RWBY: First Contact!
by Captaindrake123
Summary: First contact, the long dreamed of moment when humanity discovers it's not alone in the universe. Well its here, but its not as glamorous as everyone thought it would be. Instead, a sixteen year old boy is ripped from his home by an unknown occurrence, forced to fight, adapt, and learn to survive. "If there's a way here, there's a way back! I'll find my way home no matter what!"
1. Chapter 1

**_Chapter 1: A Boy in Another World_**

Why...

_Bright white flash of light. _

...am…

_¨...ahhhh-UGH!" _

...I…

_Crash!_

...here?

Why am I here? No, I don't mean the cliche question of 'Why are we here?' in a metaphysical sense, I mean why am _I here_? Everything is hazy right now, but I vaguely realize that I´m not where I´m supposed to be.

¨Ugh...¨ I groaned painfully, I hear voices around me, but everything is faint. Shaking my head, I slowly blinked open my eyelids ¨W-What...?¨ My voice was shaky.

It was kinda dark, my eyes tried to adjust...I looked down at myself, I´m laying on my stomach on top of..._´A crate? No, what used to be a crate´ _I´m on top of a smashed wooden crate with a strange snowflake symbol, I briefly realized that I fell on it. How or why I'm like this I have no idea though.

_´How did I fall on a crate? Why is there a crate?´ _

My memory is just blank no matter how much I try to figure it out. I was packing for camping, I went to the backyard…

Then nothing.

That´s...frustrating, if not worrying.

Placing my hands on top of the ground beneath me, I push myself up off my stomach ¨Ow...¨ I felt a little bit of pain, but it wasn´t excruciating. Carefully putting my feet under me, I stood up, some splinters of wood falling off of me.

Brushing myself, I looked around the area in confusion ¨What the fuck…?¨ My eyes roam to my right, and stop on some hooded people with masks looking disoriented, but soon stopped and just stared at me, shocked still.

_´Wait, what-´ _I froze for a second when I noticed the holsters with pistols on their sides.

Masks, guns, unknown place..._´Animal ears?´ _I notice the strange-_appendages, they just moved on their own! _

Suddenly the fear hits, they have guns. My eyes widened, and I _sprinted _to the left.

¨W-Wait! Stop!¨ They must have broken out of their trance too, I hear them scrambling for their weapons.

"Intruder! White Fang!" One of the men in a bone mask shouted to his fellow men "Take out the human filth!"

_BANG!_

_BANG!_

'_Aw fuck! FUCK! FUCK!' _ I screamed in my head as I ran for cover, my backpack bumping crazily against my back as I sprinted and rolled behind a series of metal crates. Eyes frantically searching around me, the place is big, filled with crates.

A warehouse.

'_Why am I in a warehouse being shot at by furry fanatics!? I was just getting ready to go camping! How the hell did I get here!?' _I panicked inside my mind as some shots bounced off my cover. I shook my head _' Need to get out of here, now!' _

This was no time to panic. I took a deep breath through my nose and out my mouth to calm my heartbeat, and looked around the area I was in. I saw a steel pillar of support nearby that lead up to an upper floor.

_BANG! _

The bullets were getting closer, I need to move, _now_.

I sprinted to my left and climbed up one of the crates with a quick boost from the lower shelves, jumping up and pulling, I continued to climb, I looked over to the side to see the upper floor within my reach, I jumped from the crates and vaulted over the rails on the upper floor.

Once there I ducked as the bullets started going over my head and got closer to the wall-

One of the masked men rounded a corner just near me, we both stared at each other in shock for a moment, and just before he aimed his gun I grabbed his wrist, keeping it away from my person "AH! GET OFF ME-_AH!_" I brought the hand downwards and slammed my knee into it, he lost his grip on the gun and it fell to the ground.

I rammed my free left hand into his throat, I then grabbed his collar with both hands and threw him over to the rail "WHOA! AH-" He flipped over the railing from the speed he went, and gravity took it from there "AHHHHH!"

The gunfire did not let up, in fact I could've sworn that he was shot as he fell-yeah, definitely saw it, I see blood on the side of the railing.

'_Move! MOVE DAMN IT!' _Right, no gawking, dead man or not. I started to run and I felt something hit my feet- the gun he dropped earlier.

I grabbed it real quick before I ran, just in case, I kept my head low and navigated through the upper section with relative ease, it was somewhat crowded with the the crates up here _'What the hell is with this place?' _I see the snowflake symbol again from earlier on the containers, I have no idea what its for.

"Up here!" One of the men shouted for the nearby stairwell.

'_Shit…' _I got on all fours behind a big crate and stayed silent as they ran by, I didn't even breathe.

"We've lost him, split up and search! Don't let the human filth escape!"

'_Human filth"? Aren't these guys human!?' _Great, now I'm terrified I was abducted by _aliens_.

Footsteps came close by _'If I shoot with a gun they'll find me...wait, I got an idea...this better work' _ If it didn't, I'm dead meat, but I don't have a lot of options.

I brought my gun to my mouth and bit down on it to free my hands, sprung from my hiding spot once he came close and grabbed him by the mouth "Mmmm!" My free hand went for his collarbone, it's index finger curling around the bone, and as his hands tried to get me off him...he went limp, completely out cold.

'_Okay...human enough for _that _to work' _I thought as I gently placed him on the ground, I just gave him a nerve pinch around the collarbone, the blood flow being blocked by my finger knocked him out.

I set him down gently...and I noticed a wallet in his back pocket.

I swiped it real quick, and took the gun out of my mouth. A wallet means there is identification inside, and identification for kidnappers means something to give to the police.

I silently but quickly jogged over to the staircase, but I heard faint footsteps just as I started to go down, I grabbed the left railing and vaulted myself over it, climbing down the side of the staircase while gripping onto the support beams, hanging off to the side.

The staircase shook slightly at the footsteps, my hands felt slippery against the metal as multiple more men climbed the stairs. Once it was done and I knew they were a fair distance away from the staircase I sighed in relief and I dropped, landing on my feet and hands before tumbling forward to cushion the blow from the high height.

'_Okay...okay, so far so good, there's the exit' _I thought as I got to my feet and headed to the door-

An arm whips out from behind me- "Got you human scum!"

"GURH!" The arm wrapped around my neck, and the gun slipped from my hands as I held onto my captors arm in a instinctual action to free myself.

"You think you can sneak in here and report back to your superiors, huh? So you can put us down like _dogs_!?" The hand by my head had _fucking claws come out of it's fingers!_

'_What the hell is she!? And what is she talking about!?' _I screamed in my head, my mind going a million miles per second.

The space between the forearm and the bicep by the elbow was just enough to twist my head, and with it the rest of my body to the right, grabbing the woman by her her legs "WHOA!" And lifted her into the air with my upper body strength, and I slammed her back into the ground.

"UGH!" She hit the concrete floor with a thud "Ugh…" She groaned in pain.

I quickly went for her neck and wrapped my finger around her collarbone, she struggled for a moment before going limp _'Okay, really glad I learned all this' _

Yeah, I figured I would need self defence and fighting skills in case I was attacked or something-but this is _ridiculous! _Animal people!? Shooting at me!?

I´m so damned _confused_ and _terrified. _

But I have to keep going, I got the gun and ran for the door as I heard footsteps come from the staircase, no doubt they heard the commotion.

Running through the open doorway into the dark of night I spotted a guard by the entrance, I fumbled with the gun for a moment before shooting multiple times as I ran towards him, he didn't even get the chance to raise his rifle, half the bullets actually missed but the guard was shot in the leg twice.

¨Ah!¨ He fell over as I ran past him.

'_Damn!' _My hands were not quite prepared for the recoil, but I held onto the gun as I ran to the right of the building _'Shit, another one!?' _This guard hesitated for a moment, and I ducked and rolled under the line of fire before he pulled the trigger, then sprung to my feet and grabbed the man by the forearm.

"GAH!" I twisted one of the man's wrists, moving the rifle away from him, I put the arm up in a joint lock behind him before kneeing the guard in the kidney "UGH!" I followed up with a punch to the temple of his head, and then roundhouse kicked him in the face.

I jumped over the guard on the ground and sprinted as fast I could _'RUN DAMN IT! THEIR BEHIND YOU!' _The very thought alone pushed my legs harder, I made a hard right into a space in between the warehouse and another building, I could hear the gunshots coming my way.

Sprinting down the area I ran towards the other building, and like any sane man with parkour skills I put the gun into my mouth, jumped up, and started climbing _'"You don't need parkour skills" they said! "You'll never use them" they said! WELL LOOK AT ME NOW BITCHES! FUCKING USING THEM!' _

After scaling the building I made it to the roof, just as the animal...gang...people or whatever rounded the corner and found me, I ran like hell as they tried to shoot towards the roof. Luckily they couldn't get a clear shot.

'_Haven't lost them yet, keep going!' _Once across the roof I jumped off to the next building, grabbing both hands on the ledge of a window, and started making my way up, this building is taller than the other one, but I'm still making good time-

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

'_CLIMB FASTER!' _ I pushed and pulled myself over the roof of the next building and ran, panting heavily at the constant sprinting for my life.

"Okay…ha..." I slowed down for a moment, leaning against a nearby stone wall for support as I tried to catch my breath, breathing in through the nose, and out through the mouth, I need to calm my racing heart.

I shook my head as I somewhat caught my breath, and then started running again, I wasn't gonna take a chance that they won't be able to catch up.

__BANG!__

My head whips towards the sound to see two of the masked men climbing over the ledge on the side of the building I was running to _'FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!' _

I take a quick right and dive into cover as they came guns blazing, scraping my arms slightly as I did so. Readying my gun, I take a peek out of cover -_BANG!- _and quickly take it back into cover, and I started quickly moving to my right, maneuvering around the stone to get a better shot.

Quickly coming out of cover again, I shot the pistol at them, this time holding a proper grip and aiming, and I shot one of them in the shoulder, but all the other shots missed.

_Click. _I pulled the trigger, its empty "Shit…" I muttered as I ducked behind the stone wall.

'_Think think…' _

I shifted around in my cover-and remembered the familiar weight of my backpack, and quickly opened it, throwing the gun in to free my hands while searching _'Where is it...there!' _

Throwing knives, these I'm _way _more accurate with than some random pistol. I took them out and readied them in my hands "Okay, one...two...three!"

I ran out of cover, looking to the masked man aiming towards me while the other was sprawled on the ground from his shoulder wound, I threw my hand out and let the knife fly...hitting the gun right of his hands!

'_FUCK YES!' _

I ran towards the edge of the building _'Home free-' _My face smashed into something, and I fell on my ass from the recoil _'Fuck, what did...I...hit…' _

Looking up to see another masked person like the people shooting at me, I gawked. He was bigger, more muscular, and has a _fucking chainsaw strapped to his back. _

The man grinned a toothy, bloodthirsty, smile.

* * *

Vibrations filled the air, and the sound of a chainsaw rumbled.

I fucking _ran_.

I don't mean fifty percent, I don't mean seventy-five percent, I mean three _hundred _percent. I'm not slow, but I'm not the fastest guy around either, yet right now I'm giving Usain Bolt a run for his money!

Feet pounding on the floor of the rooftop, I jumped the large distance, hopped onto railings on the side of the building, and climbed. Latching onto the side of windows panes and metal tubes for the electrical system of the building.

Pulling myself over and on top of the roof, I ran again, not taking long to reach the other end, and jumping again to another building, this time much closer, onto a chimney letting out steam, I jumped off and ran again.

¨He's getting away!"

"Get back here human scum!" The chainsaw sounded through the air behind me. '_Yeah, like I'm_ _gonna do that!' _I thought sarcastically. Feeling pretty good about my distance, I glanced back- and then immediately bolted again when I saw that he just jumped to the roof I landed on earlier with _ease. _

'_What the fuck!?' _That had to at least be five meters of a jump! The only reason I made it across is because of adrenaline and something to climb on the side of the building!

What the fuck was this guy!?

Spotting more stepping stones for me, I expertly ran a top them, jumping from a chimney to higher ledges. Running across it, I jumped to the next building, grasping the edge of the roof and lifting my feet over and pulling myself up quickly, and ran again.

My breathing was quick but at least somewhat controlled, I can feel my heart racing, but its a passing one. Fear is driving my actions, along with quick thinking and logic on ways to lose him.

'_Keep running, its taking him time to move in different directions, put more obstacles between you!' _I thought to myself, taking a left, jumping diagonally across to a smaller building, right hand grazing a wall as I landed on a ledge and rolled forward and back onto my feet.

Glancing over my shoulder I saw that he was a ways behind me, looking frustrated even at this distance, but he wasn't far. I picked up speed again, arms shifting back and forth on my sides in sync.

After reaching another end to a roof, I jumped again, this time latching onto a wall. I jumped onto a stable pole sticking out of the building, some strange symbol on the flag attached to it. I didn't bother looking for details as I stuck to the wall and rounded the corner.

Quickly moving through the ledge I passed some windows "Uhh…" I stopped at the sound, and turned my head to see another sticking out a window right next to my foot.

We stared at each other dumbly, she looked around twenty... had short blue hair, no idea what kind've dye she uses because it looks like an ocean blue that seems natural on her, her yellow eyes stared at my hazel ones in bafflement.

"...I'm getting my cat" I'm not sure why I blurted that out, it was the first thing to come to mind. Cats are always walking on the ledges of apartment buildings, right?

She blinked slowly at me, eyes wide "Are you...are you coming onto me?"

'_What!?' _I stare at her in confusion _'The hell makes you jump to that-' _

Her cat ears twitch.

Animal ears were on top of her head, like the people that _shot at me._

I step back in fear-"W-Whoa-AH!" I lost my footing and I heard the girl shriek, my right hand latched onto the ledge desperately, and I swung against the building _hard_ "Ugh…" I grunted, swinging my other arm up and pushing my foot down on a window ledge below me to push myself up.

"A-Are you okay!?" I heard her shout, but I didn't bother answering. I just moved away as quickly as possible. Moving along the edges quickly again, I made it over to the other side of the building, and climbed up a bit.

"Tch…" I grunted at the soreness of my stretched right arm, I looked over my shoulder to see I was high enough, pushed my feet against the wall in front of my stomach, and jumped over to the other roof.

"Oof!" My landing was less than graceful than my usual, I tripped over the ledge and put my arms out in front of me, rolling as I made impact with the ground…

I stopped, my hands stung from the sudden impact, and my ankle hurt a bit, but I'm okay.

"Fuck…" I cursed to myself, just laying there for a moment and breathing _'Gotta get up, laying down will only make breathing worse'_...I then slowly supported myself on my forearms, planting my feet slowly onto the ground beneath me...it would be so nice to lay down, but I need to get up.

I pushed myself up carefully, trying to regulate my breathing. Placing my hands on my hips, I started walking across the roof over to a nearby water tower _'I think I lost them…' _

Placing a hand on one of the support beams of the water storage, I breathed in through the nose and out the mouth, calming my heartbeat "Okay…"

Nodding to myself as my breathing returned to normal levels, I turned around-

_Rumbling. _

_Metal. _

_**Duck.**_

My body moved before I could fully perceive it, I hit and rolled onto the ground under a swipe from a chainsaw, and jumped back to my feet and faced the back of the giant man from before.

Seeing he was momentarily stunned at my avoidance, I looked to below the right side of his ribs. My fist already clenched, and my torso twisting, I punched him _hard_ in the liver.

"UGH!" He stumbled to the left...but...but didn't go down!? He should be-_'What the hell!?' _I saw a shimmer of light where I hit him _'Is...is that a __**forcefield**__!?' _

I looked to him again quickly, he's in pain, it still affected him just not as much as it should. I quickly ran and lunged at him, thrusting both my feet forward while in mid-air and slammed into his back.

"UGH!" He stumbled forward and grunted in pain, but recovered quickly as he twisted his torso and swiped the chainsaw behind himself, but the force of gravity saved me by dragging me to the ground after I struck him.

With the backpack cushioning my fall, I knew he was gonna come at me again. I threw my legs over my head and kicked him in the jaw in the process, narrowly missing a downwards swipe to my privates, and rolled myself backwards back onto my feet.

"Damn human…!" He growled and his jaw clenched.

He swiped again and I stumbled backwards, landing on my ass _'Shit!' _I rolled to the side as he swung downwards again, metal grinding noisily and sparking against the concrete.

I sprung to my feet, I jumped up and spin kicked him in the temple. It momentarily stunned him but that fickle was there again, he lifted the chainsaw and I ducked just before he swiped at me _'He's fast!' _I sent a punch to his throat before he could swing again.

"GRR!" He stumbled back and struggled to breath, but it was the same thing. It hurt him, but that fickle appeared again, protecting him, I could feel it when I hit him, a barrier that's protecting him.

It made no sense '_Nothing is making sense!'_

My panicking was cut as my eyes saw the flash of steel coming and lunged to the left "HOLD STILL!" My shoulder hit the concrete, arms scraping against the floor, but I pushed myself up from the ground, and sprinted to behind the water tower, my back against it and looking through the support beams to see him move.

I glanced to another building rooftop, I think I can make it- "You can't run human!"

My eyes widened, and turned to look at him warily "What do you want!?" I shouted back at him "What are you!?" I needed to know, I needed to know _something_.

"You call us animals!" He shouted "And what I want...is your death!" He chuckled darkly "There's nowhere you can run! Eventually you'll grow tired, and when you do…" His chainsaw hummed "I'll have another human added to my kill count" he said with such pride and eagerness that it made me sick.

'_What do I do?' _

My mind was racing _'I don't what's going on! Where am I!? Who is he!? He'sgoingtokillmeI'mgoingtodiewhatdoIdowhatdoIdothere'snowayout-' _

"_**There are no no-win scenarios" **_

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_**(Play: Star Trek Beyond Theme)**_

My mind came to stop at the quote rushing to the forefront of my thoughts...my shaking hands steadied, and my eyes narrowed _'None of those questions matter' _I told myself sternly, hands clenching against the support.

'_All that matters is the here and now, what I __**do **__know, what I __**can **__do' _

My eyes glanced to the nearby rooftop, calculating _'I could attempt escape, but he's right, he'll catch up to me, I have to assume he has enhanced physical capabilities from his ability to jump buildings seemingly with ease' _

Running wasn't an option, which means I had to fight.

My eyes landed on the growing impatient man staring my spot down _'He has a force-field like barrier protecting him' _I thought _'But from my hits I know that its not perfect, he gets hurt, its only lessened, so that means there is a limit to how much he can take' _

With the analysis on him done, I looked to my surroundings _'I can't beat him one on one, I could hold my own, but he'll win in the end' _My eyes glanced about _'So I need to use something else, my surroundings, maybe I can get him to fall off the building' _

It held promise, but he wouldn't be dumb enough to just chase me to a ledge and fall, and its too risky, one good hit and I'm dead.

My eyes stopped roaming, landing on a halfway cut wood support _'That was when I was resting, and ducked under his swing' _I realized.

Bolting from my cover, I took out one of my throwing knives, a plan formulating in my head _'This reinforces the fact that his chainsaw will kill me, with how easily it cut through´_

He charged at me, he was fast, but I threw the knife expertly at him, right foot planted behind me and the left aiming forward, along the motion of my right arm, the knife soaring through the air.

"GAH!" The knife imbedded into his right shoulder for a moment, and then fell off by the pull of gravity. I sprinted towards him, and rolled under his swing, grabbing the fallen knife as I did so, and swinging it into his side "You little-!" I reversed my grip and slashed again at his back.

'_But if I can get him mad enough to swing at me wildly...' _I lunged away from another swing, and jumped back to my feet and sprinted towards the tower.

"Come and get me you sick fuck!" I pointed the middle finger at him, he growled in rage, and charged_-'OH SHIT!' _

I ducked at the last second, his chainsaw grinding against the wood, I backed away under the water tower through the support beams, and thrusted my knife at him "AH!" I hit him in the shoulder, he attempted to grab me but I pulled the way and stabbed around the other side at his face "QUIT IT!"

He grabbed my wrist, and I used my free hand to punch him in the throat "UGH!" With his windpipe struck, he let go, and I stabbed at him again "RAHHHHHHHHHH!" I backed away just in time as he slashed through the support beam I hid behind.

Moving quickly, I got out from under the tower and on the side of the water storage facing the ledge of the building "Come on jackass!" I egged on the chainsaw maniac further "Is your dumb ass too old to keep up!?" Just one more support taken down on this side and it'll fall…

"OLD!?" He shouted "I'm twenty-eight!" The maniac shouted indignantly.

_´Sensitive about your age, huh?´_

I smirked evilly "Well, I guess that shows how fast some people age, old man!"

As expected, he gritted his teeth his teeth in rage and raised the chainsaw over to the left side of his body_ "RAHHHHHHHHHH!" _

Sidestepping quickly, the chainsaw brushed past my pant leg, I moved over again as he charged "DIE!"

I ducked and moved left…

_Creek._

My smirk grew "I win" I stated.

He stood dumbfoundedly with his arm still outstretched with the chainsaw, looking around in confusion, and then looking up slowly to see the water tower falling "What the-AH!" I grabbed the outstretched wrist while he was momentarily confused, I twisted his wrist and he released his grip.

Grabbing the chainsaw as I let him pull away and hold his hand in pain, I took the handle and _rammed _the butt of it into his chest "GAH!" He stumbled backward, and I made a one-eighty turn around and ran away.

"W-Wh-" I turned around to see his shocked face looking up at the falling tower coming towards him, and at the very last few moments, he looked at me right at me before it hit.

I waved, my evil smirk never leaving my face as it crashed into him.

He attempted to lunge towards me- "AHHHHHH-Grurrggggllee….!" The water drowned out his screams as the tower fell over to the side and poured over the building's rooftop, crashing into him and sending him over the edge.

Looking away and covering my eyes as the water splashed, I heard multiple crashes into the street below, water going everywhere, I could feel it beneath my soaking shoes.

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.

.

And then the crashing stopped, nothing but dripping water and car alarms echoing the streets.

_**(Stop song)**_

Slowly I open my eyes to see it for myself, the tower had completely fallen over the edge. I walked over to see the destruction in its wake, and the man that tried to kill me.

The water tower was wrecked on the sidewalk and the side of the street, water everywhere and a car near it had its hood dent and its alarm was beeping incessantly…

It was hard to spot, but I see him. There was the body of the chainsaw maniac on the ground, upper body sticking out from under the head of the broken tower, a small blood pool around him.

"..." I stared at the sight "...I did it" I mumbled quietly.

I pulled it off...I actually pulled it off.

My voice picked up in volume "I did it…!" A victorious smile came to my face.

I raised my fist into the air "I DID IT!" I shouted happily as I jumped in the air wildly "WHOOO! IN YOUR FACE UNIVERSE! I _LIVE! _HAHAHA!_" _I laughed maniacally at the cosmo's pitiful attempts to kill me "HAHA! HAHAHAHAHA!... _HA!" _

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After a few moments I calmed down "..." Then I coughed to myself, regaining my composure, that outburst was a little embarrassing.

'_Right...people probably think a crazy person is out now' _I thought to myself bitterly, the sounds of sirens echoed across the streets, it was far away but it was getting closer by the second _'Shit, the cops!' _

I looked around at the scene…_'Fuck, I'm gonna get sued for the property damage' _Shaking my head, I decided to visit the visit the police station later when I _wasn't _on a crime scene. Because while the police isn't nearly as bad as their played out to be on TV, I really doubt that it will go over well.

Get my barings first, then go to the police.

Making my decision, I run to the other end of the building. Jumping to the next rooftop, away from the crime scene.

* * *

Walking along the sidewalk, I caught a glimpse of the cops near the broken water tower in the distance and promptly walked the other way. I was wearing a heavier black coat from my backpack, hood drawn over my head, making me less recognizable to anyone who might have seen me. _'The backpack might be a giveaway though, still, its better than nothing' _

I just had to hope no one called me out, and get as far away as I can.

In the meantime…_'Oh my fucking universe that actually happened' _I breathed deeply, and then released _'Jeez...wait until I get home, their gonna flip' _That got a small chuckle out of me.

A strange swell of pride filled my chest _'I fucking did that, I fought my way through armed thugs and escaped unscathed-'_

"Ah…!" I grunted at the sting in my leg, a small bleeding cut on it "Well...mostly…" I could feel the scrapes on my arms acting up, and my legs burned from the punishment of running so much earlier.

Yeah, shouldn´t get cocky, I nearly died.

'_Adrenaline's wearing off' _I grunted in irritation at the pain, to be honest...I'm exhausted, these scrapes are just...well, scrapes, I'll be fine. But I'm so damned tired, I need to sit down.

So I walked for a while, not sure how long. I didn´t see much of anything beside buildings, not even a bus bench.

My eyes glance about for a place to sit as I continued walking, despite the protests from my legs _'...there' _A park, a park means a bench to sit on.

Walking through the park I took in the scenery, saw a child playground and a few trees littered about the land. It was pretty, no trash in sight. So either its being well kept...or not a lot people visit. Either way, its perfect.

Walking over to the other end of the park, wanting to get a little more distance from the crime scene, I brushed the backpack off my shoulders and set it down on the bench.

"Ah…" I grunted in relief, that thing is heavy, I'm used to it but its a relief to have it off.

"Ahhhhhh…" I moaned in practical ecstasy as I sat down and let my legs rest, leaning my back against the wood "Fuck yes…"

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I sighed "Alright...where am I?" I questioned, sitting myself up "...my phone!" I realized, I usually don't carry it around at all. But I was going camping, I figured I could take it with me in case something happened.

...I'm not a normal teenager.

Quickly unzipping my coat, I reached into my jacket's pocket and brought out the smartphone, turning it on and squinting my eyes to adjust at the sudden bright light in the dark area.

Once on, I looked through my contacts and selected 'Mom'...they're probably worried sick. My heart clenched a bit at the worry I'm causing them, and quickly pressed the call button.

'**No service'**

"...what!?" I stared at the screen in confusion, slapped it lightly a few times, tried again anyway, but it never changed "..." I was dumbfounded, I'm not in the middle of nowhere, I'm in a town...sure the town had weird…'animal people', but its still a town!

'_Speaking of animal people, what the hell were they? There was one in an apartment too' _I thought to myself, wracking my brain for an answer. The animal parts weren't fake, I saw a pair of ears _twitch_. There are normal humans here, I saw some of the cops, no animal ears or claws...so...what are they?

'_And where am I?' _

Lowering the phone from my eyes I sighed and put it away, I wasn´t gonna get any answers at the moment, no matter how much I wanted them. I laid back and hung my head over the backrest, I looked into the beautiful night sky.

"...well...at least the stars are nice" I smiled softly, glancing at the bright moon "And the moon is broken..."

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I burst forth from my comfortable seat and scrambled my backpack out of the way, whipping around fully to face the sky again "_WHAT_!?"

'_T-The moon…' _I stared, my eyes practically popping out of my skull as I gazed at the heavens.

_**A shattered moon laid with the stars above.**_

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Well...there was only one thing to do.

"Haaaaaaa..." I took a very _very _deep breath...and proceeded to scream.

"_AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

* * *

**_Omake: Police Investigation._**

"Detective" Chief Officer Teal walked over the premises of the crime scene, he was a man in his late thirties, bald, body well built, his black beard hanging from his chin "What do you make of this?"

Turning around from looking at the water tower and the forensics team looking around the area, the white fang being brought onto a stretcher and onto an ambulance "Not sure, I didn't even know there was any White Fang members here" he sighed "Damn...those bastards apparently can't leave us alone"

The Chief sighed tiredly, walking up and next to him, the detective was blonde and in his late twenties, his brown coat hung on his torso, his chizzled chin, clearly shaved, and piercing emerald eyes "From what I can tell so far, there was clearly a struggle on the roof" he pointed to the rooftop in question "From what I can gather he fell when the tower fell, taking him along for the ride"

The Chief nodded, and looked to the detective again "Who do you think did it?"

"That depends" The detective looked to the chief "Are there any security cameras?"

Chief shook his head.

"Then no idea" He shrugged, he walked around the crashed water tower, stepping through the puddles, the Chief following him "From the injuries on the White Fang member...he had multiple stab wounds, sharp and quick, most likely a knife"

Passing by some other officers, they took a closer look at the beams "And his wrist was apparently twisted, probably to disarm him " he commented "Along with a bruise under the right side of the man's ribs, right where his liver would be, one good shot there and anyone would be in for a world of pain"

"So whoever did it is a good fighter" Chief Teal summed up.

"Yes...and no" The detective mulled over it, sighing "Definitely has high combat capabilities, but I don't think they have an aura"

The Chief blinked "...are you sure?" He questioned "This White Fang member clearly had one, and your saying someone without it took him on and _won_? That big guy?" He pointed to the ambulance moving away in the distance.

The detective nodded "From what we can glean so far, the wounds, while focused on areas it would do the most damage, are light compared to that of a huntsmen" He walked over some rubble "There were also multiple signs of hits to the throat, the man had a hard time breathing" He turned to the chief with a knowing look "What kind of huntsmen that you know of would be desperate enough to go for the throat?"

"I see…" The Chief looked around briefly, glancing at the tower "...so you think that's why the guy went to such drastic measures?" He pointed to the destroyed tower and wrecked sidewalk.

"You read my mind" The detective walked over to the cut beams, and crouched in front of it, he pointed to the damage "These were cut by a chainsaw, we found said chainsaw on the rooftop, reinforcing the fact the fight took place there" He nodded to the spot, and the chief looked at it again.

"My guess" The detective stood up again, facing the Chief "Our guy saw that he was at a disadvantage, and got the Fang angry-"

"And lead him to the supports to cut off, causing the tower to fall on top of the fang" The Chief realized, eyes looking over the wreckage.

Smiling, the detective chuckled "I´m starting to wonder who the detective is here"

"Chief! Detective!" The shout caught their attention, a skinny man with green eyes and red hair running up to them from a police car that dropped him off.

"Its that guy from forensics…" The detective muttered "What's his name…?"

"Indigo Cole" Chief said simply, the detective nodded.

He stopped in front of them "Excuse me sirs, I have something I'd like to report from the warehouse district"

"Go ahead" The Chief allowed.

"There was a White Fang base in one of the warehouses" Indigo stated seriously.

"What!?" The detective shouted, and he threw his hand to his forehead and paced around "Damn it…"

¨Are you sure?¨ The Chief stepped forward, giving the forensics man a stern serious look ¨Are you certain that the White Fang were conducting base operations here? Its confirmed?¨

¨...I´m afraid so, sir¨

The Chief went quiet at this, he turned around and sighed quietly ¨...this could be bad¨ He narrowed his eyes at the broken tower ¨White Fang...here? Why would those terrorists be _here_?¨

¨Recruiting?¨ The detective suggested.

¨Not likely¨ Indigo dismissed it, catching their attention ¨While there is some racism, we have the lowest reports of it, and is the reason plenty of Faunus come here to live¨

¨...so what do they want then?¨ The detective glanced to the side at the chainsaw ¨If they have more operations...¨

¨We don´t know for sure¨ The Chief interjected, his gaze hardened ¨But if there is..._nothing_ is gonna stop me from kicking those terrorists off of Patch¨

* * *

**_Captaindrake123: Well well, I hope you´ve enjoyed this chapter. Welcome to RWBY: First Contact! A bit different from your usual SI/OC story, yes? Don´t worry, it only gets better from here! _**

**_Unlike some of my other stories, I have this planned out, and have been for over a year. Its my pride and joy, and while I don´t expect everyone to love it, its mine. Any constructive criticism is appreciated, but if your going to slander it for the sake of it, or because you don´t like the premise, please, just leave. I don´t take shit like that. _**

**_Anyway, as for those of you who like this, I hope you´ll love getting to know our fellow Earthling. You´ll have his name next chapter. _**


	2. Chapter 2 A Certain Huntress in Training

_**Chapter 2: A Certain Red Hooded Huntress **_

I sat down at a bench, it was daytime, birds chirping, and the skies clear. A beautifal day to enjoy the scenery at a park...but...I couldn't bring myself to enjoy it at all, I tried, I really tried…

Anything to distract myself from the the distress in my mind.

I sighed dejectedly and buried my face in my hands, my elbows standing on my thighs, and just sat. I felt numb, maybe it was exhaustion.

"...why is this happening?" A small part of me was shocked at how quiet my own voice was, but the rest was mulling over my situation.

'_Unless the moon was shattered in the last twenty four hours-which most assuredly would've killed most, if not all of humanity- then I'm on another fucking __**planet**__' _

And I don't even want to _think_ about the idea of being in an alternate reality, that's just...too much. Too...hopeless, another planet sounds more manageable, even if its technically not any better in the grand scheme of things.

I had so many questions, the scientific part of me wondered how this was possible. The humans walking around, if this was another planet then how are there humans here? There were some differences from what I've seen in the warehouse, but the resemblance is uncanny...it...it makes no _sense._

'_That is not how evolution works...it...there were environmental factors that were necessary for humans to evolve...very __**specific **__factors... the chances for another planet to have humans is fucking astronomical, so fucking low that it'd never even be considered possible' _

I'm so fucking confused, my understanding of science is being thrown upside down. Forgetting evolutionary impossibility, I am on another habitable planet! As far as I fucking know there is no other fucking planet in our solar system that can support life other than mother fucking earth herself.

So that means I am possibly dozens if not hundreds-or fuck, even _thousands _of lightyears from home. _'Did I fall in a fucking wormhole?'_

It would explain how I got from my backyard to a fucking warehouse on a planet possibly thousands of lightyears away from earth...but if so, how the fuck did I survive the radiation...and how in fuck's name did a wormhole get in my backyard!?

.

.

.

I am terrified.

I'd have to be really stupid to deny it, I am terrified. I was almost killed last night by animal people with guns and chainsaws, I am on a world I know nothing about, and I have no idea how to get back home. I don't even know how I got here in the first place.

"This is so fucked up…" I buried my face further into my hands, my voice still a wisp. I slowly dragged my hands down my face and let them fall on my lap, staring ahead I could see some teenagers walking by further ahead, but I didn't bother paying attention.

"Okay...gotta figure this out" I whisper to myself, my voice is still too quiet for my liking, but it was leagues better than before _'Alright, quietly freaking out will get you nowhere...I...I have money, from the wallet I swiped' _I nodded to myself as I felt the wallet in my pocket, I figured I could give it to the police so they could identify one of them or something with an I.D... but that plan went out the window once I saw the shattered moon.

'_So I'll be able to buy some living essentials, I need to figure out how currency works here and how much I have' _That could wait for a bit, I'm not hungry at the moment and it's not night time, but I'll need to figure that out soon enough.

'_I need to learn about this place, it's history, maybe...maybe this has happened before?...no, don't go jumping to conclusions' _I ordered myself sternly '_I need to focus on essentials right now, anything else can be dealt with later' _

'_Library' _That thought popped into my head '_Yes, a library, I can get some information! Libraries are public property right? I need to look into that, look at newspapers, maps, make it so I don't stand out' _It would definitely attract attention if I didn't know anything about this world's common knowledge _'Okay, one of my top priorities, find a library...or this world's equivalent of one' _

I stopped for a moment _'Speaking of libraries...how can I understand them? They clearly spoke English...same language and species on another planet?' _I shook my head, as mind boggling as it is, I can figure that out later.

'_Okay, find a library, and then what?...a job' _That's a must, I need to get a job, the wallet will assuredly run out eventually _'And a place to sleep obviously, I'm just gonna assume I'll be here for a while' _

I stand up off the bench "Okay" My voice is still somewhat quiet, but it's steady "I have a game plan now" _'Find a library, learn about this world and it's currency, find a job, and a place to sleep' _

I'll need to check my inventory, I have a backpack full of things I packed for camping, so I have some food, and I have clothing. My hand fell on my jacket's right side, feeling the weight of the throwing knives in it's inner pocket, I have something to defend myself with if someone decides to attack me.

Steeling my resolve, I picked up my backpack from the bench and strapped it over my shoulders. It's time to get started-

_Silver eyes. _

I completely froze, and my eyes wouldn't leave one of the teenage girls in the distance.

'_...okay...move' _I didn't _'Move, look away from the random girl you don't know' _I twitched, but I still stared _'...okay, what the fuck is going on!?' _

Why the hell am I staring at her!? I-I can't look away, as if some invisible force is _making _me look at her. I'm so confused and unsure of what is going on, I keep trying to look away but…

The girl herself was relatively short, at least compared to myself from what I can make out. Her attire was...odd to say the least, but not exactly unattractive on her I suppose. She sort've looked like a cosplayer, what with the red hoodie and cape...

She was animatedly talking about something to some girls...who liked like they could care less, to be honest. I couldn't make much out in this distance, but they seemed to be more focused on their _holographic phones-_gonna question that later- than paying attention to whatever she's talking about.

'_That's…' _My stomach twisted somewhat, a few bad memories flashed through my mind, but I suppressed them _'Its in the past Drake, it used to hurt, but now others opinions don't matter to you anymore' _

Steeling myself, I attempted to look away again _'C'mon…' _My face scrunched a little, and through force of will I looked away and stared at my lap.

'_...' _

"That...was weird" I muttered to myself quietly "What the hell was that?"

I shook my head in confusion, I have no idea why that happened. _'Why did I stare at her?' _My eyes narrowed, and I stood up from my bench again, backpack firmly attached to me as I just let my legs walk wherever they took me.

Right now my mind was on overdrive trying to figure out what happened there, I had to _force_ myself to look away _'Why?...I mean, its not because she's a girl, right?' _I didn't feel any particular attraction at the time _'She's...pretty cute' _That's based on her looks alone _'But...no, that wasn't it, it felt like...some invisible force was making me to look at her' _

It didn´t feel like _I _was the one doing anything.

"-so I was thinking about adjusting the scope later, I think that during combat practice that it was knocked out of alignment…"

I glanced to the side- and then _forced _myself to look away and ahead of myself. It was the same girl from earlier _'What the hell legs!?' _I pinched my left thigh discreetly, as if to give it pain to teach it a lesson _'Why the hell did I walk over here!?' _

This was getting weird...first I couldn't stop looking at her and now…_'Did...did I subconsciously moved myself over to her?' _

.

.

.

'_Hell no'_

I don't know what this feeling is but I'm gonna ignore the _shit _out of it. I have no idea who this girl is, but I feel scared to think that she has this strange..._power _over me.

I was about to increase my pace-

"Yeah, whatever" One of the girls interrupted the red hooded person without a care "We're outside of school, so don't talk about schoolwork with us"

"B-But its not, its my weapon…"

My pace instead slowed a bit as I walked by them…

"Yeah, its not always about you Rubes" Another one of them replied.

"O-Oh...sorry" The hooded girl said meekly.

"Whatever, you mind getting ice-cream for us? It'd be awesome if you could get some for your friends"

The red hooded girl laughed somewhat stiffly at the request, and...my heart clenched, this is painfully familiar to me "Your such a leech sometimes Carol, alright I'll get some ice-cream, be back in a bit!" She said excitedly with a wide smile as she ran _really fast_ towards an ice-cream vendor nearby.

'_Holy shit that girl could be an olympic sprinter!...scratch that, she could win the olympics race hands down! And are those rose petals?' _I stared at the sight, I was shocked, but I was more fascinated than anything, no one else seemed to bat an eye.

I blinked and then shook my head _'What am I doing!? I shouldn't be sticking around, questions for later, you can figure it out at a library' _I tugged on my backpack and started walking away, getting some distance between me and them.

"Ugh, finally a break, she's so annoying"

"I know right?"

My feet planted themselves firmly into the ground when I heard that, it was on the edge of my hearing, I almost didn't catch it…I backed up a little so I was somewhat closer to them, but discreetly turned to the left to sit at a nearby bench while opening up my backpack.

'_I should...go over my things, better now than later...yeah' _Even I didn't even believe my own lie, my curiosity got the best of me._ 'Besides, I know next to nothing about this place, I could learn something from listening in on some locals'_

"Why are we hanging out with her again?" My hands swifted through my backpack, but I didn't pay any attention to the items, leaning over to the side so my ear was closer to them, but looking like I was just trying to see into my backpack at a different angle.

"Her sister, remember? Don't you wanna get close to the most popular girl in school?" My hands stopped. _'So its like that...' _I thought to myself bitterly.

"How long do we have to put up with her?" My hands clenched into fists, but I moved them around somewhat to appear like I'm just annoyed at not finding something in my backpack…

"Just until we can be friends with her sister, then we only have to deal with her every now and then" The leader girl...what was her name? Ceila? No idea. She said it with such confidence and haughty air that I almost gagged.

One of the others scoffed "Whatever, I'd rather not deal with her at all, she's so annoying, always 'Weapons' this! And 'Weapons' that! Just shut up already you annoying bitch…"

This shit makes my blood boil.

They were using the red hooded girl to get closer to her sister, who is apparently the most popular girl in their school, by pretending to be friends with her.

'_Disgusting…' _It was revolting, and it brought up painful memories.

"_Haha! Drizzy Drake!" _

"_Hey, we're friends aren't we, why not carry our stuff?" _

"_You think anyone gives a shit about you? Your such a weirdo!" _

Breathe in...release...

These words don't hurt me anymore, I've grown past that. I don't need people like that to make myself happy.

_Splash__**!**_

I heard a sudden splatter against the pavement, and saw the girls stiffen while looking behind them-

Oh.

...I guess it didn't take long for her to get the ice cream.

Multiple flavors of ice-cream and waffle cones scattered across the concrete floor under her feet, red hood's 'friends' looked at her in shock and fear.

.

.

.

"Y-You...what?" She finally said after a long moment of silence...her voice sounded so..._broken_.

"_Y-You...what?" I asked in shock as my so called 'friends' spoke to me, holding me down on a railing of a bridge over a highway. _

"_You think you can just act like you can do whatever you want, huh!? You should've just did what I said!" One of the taller kids shouted at me in the back as the others did the work. _

"_I just didn't want to give you my lunch or copy my homework! Why are yo-!?" _

"_Shut up! No one gives a shit about you, weirdo! Give me what I want or we'll...we'll...we'll throw you off the bridge!" _

My eyes blinked away the flash of memory, while not nearly as extreme, this was so _painfully _familiar.

"You…" My attention went back to the scene not too far away from me, the red hooded girl mumbled something there was no way I could hear at this distance.

"R-Rubes its not what you...we were joking!" Ca-something laughed as she nudged her minions to go along with her "Right guys?"

Stumbling for a moment, the two stood straight as if they are soldiers standing to attention "R-RIGHT!" They shouted.

'_Don't fall for that' _I found myself thinking _'Please...don't be stupid enough to fall for that' _

"..." The red hooded girl was silently shaking her head "...you just used me to get to Yang!?" She shouted.

"Ru-"

"I-I thought we were friends! You said you liked hanging out with me! I-I...why!?" My heart clenched at the cry in her voice. This is too much.

I probably shouldn't even be listening to this, I should leave-

"Who the hell would want to hang out with you?"

The snide remark came out of one of the minion girls suddenly, it was said with such malice and distaste that it shocked the red hooded girl into silence. Ca-something jammed her elbow into her minion and whispered something harsh into her ear.

'_...should I...do something? Because...I really want to punch them' _I thought to myself, I imagined the satisfaction I would get for punching them right in their annoying faces. But truth be told, I'm not sure if that's a good idea, I just saw red hood sprint at a hundred miles per hour not even a minute ago, who knows what they could do.

'_But damn it do I hate watching this…' _I moved to get up, maybe to get away, maybe to walk over to give them a piece of my mind, I don't know-

_WHOOSH!_

Wind crashed into my face, a flurry rose petals was in the place of where the red hooded girl was before, I briefly saw her move to her right towards the other side of the park, she was so fast I almost didn't see her at all…

'_What the hell is that…!?' _

"...crap, now Yang will never hang out with us, just great! You had to ruin it!" Ca-something yelled as she stomped off in the other direction, her minions following "Screw her anyway! Finally don't have to listen to her annoying ramblings! Can't believe she's her sister..."

.

.

.

They walked out of sight soon enough.

I looked in the direction I saw the red hooded girl run towards…

'_...I...I really shouldn't, she'll be fine, right?' _I thought to myself, not even close to being sure, and guilt twisting in my gut for some reason _'I...I need to get myself together first, I shouldn't waste my time…' _

.

.

.

I shouldn't go after her, I've already established that she could be dangerous with what happened to me earlier. But…

'_I knew what that was like, its not painful now, but I remember when it was' _

I stood up from the bench, and glanced at the ice-cream stand and where the girl ran off. It would be a good opportunity to see how currency works, ice cream shouldn't cost that much if she just bought it on a whim…

'_...I...screw it' _I made up my mind and jogged over to the ice cream stand not too far away.

Once I got close, I took in the man's image "Oh! Another customer! What would you like?" He was in his thirties at least, brown hair and eyes...and small _deer antlers_ attached to his temples.

He was like one of those people that attacked me, but...he seemed nice enough, and just an ice-cream vendor at that. I shake my head a little to push away the uneasy feeling I got.

"Uh...yeah I would like two…" I hesitated, I had no idea what that girl would like, I probably should've at least looked at the ice-cream she dropped, at least that would've given me an idea.

_She likes chocolate chip cookies and strawberries. _

I stilled in shock _'W-What!?' _

My head snapped to look behind me, but no one was there _'Who said that...?' _

"Sir?...uh, are you okay?" The vendor asked cautiously, rubbing his antlers a little "If you have a problem with faunus, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave" His eyes narrowed, almost a glare.

I broke out of the surprise and looked at him nervously rubbing his antlers _'Uh...faunus? Is that their species-oh shit he thinks I'm a racist' _

"N-no, sorry, I just wasn't sure what to pick...uh" I quickly glanced into the direction the hooded girl went and picked the chocolate chip cookie ice-cream sandwich. I always liked those and if that..._random burst of information _was right, then she liked cookies "Two of these please, and sorry if I gave you the wrong idea" I apologized sincerely.

His facial features softened, and quickly got to work, in less than ten seconds the cookie sandwiches were made and wrapped up in napkins "Here you go sir, that will be twenty Lien"

'_Lien?...okay' _So that's what the currency was called, I pulled out the wallet and looked at the strange money, taking out twenty of them, there was pretty good amount in here quantity-wise, but I can't be sure if its a lot in money terms.

I took out twenty of the cards and handed them to the man, he accepted it, looked it over, and then handed me back my change, handing me back six pieces that I have no idea the meaning of "Hehe, bit much there sir"

"T-Thank you" I turned around in the direction the girl went and started to jog-

"Going to go cheer her up?"

I froze at the vendor's words.

"I saw what happened back there" He explained, and I swear he is smirking suggestively right now, I don't even need to look to cringe at it "Your a good kid, now go get her, I saw her stop by near the tree at the right side of the park, over by the hill"

"..." I didn't answer him, and just decided to follow the directions he gave me.

* * *

I walked close to the tree the vendor pointed me to...and heard sobbing _'Oh crap she's crying…' _My heart clenched and my face cringed in uncertainty.

Hesitantly, I walked around the tree, and spotted a familiar red hood covering a shaking figure. Her shoulders were jumping up and down as she buried her face into her knees, hugging them close to her torso.

'_...shit...this is...damn it' _I held the cookie sandwiches a little tighter, steeling myself to walk over.

'_C'mon Drake...just...talk to her, at least _try_...think of it as like first contact! Yeah! This is going to be the first person you'll technically meet on another planet' _With that thought in mind, I took a breath to harden my resolve, and stepped towards her…

_Snap!_

...and stepped on a twig _'Real fucking smooth' _I told myself sarcastically.

Her head snapped up in surprise to look at me, I tensed at the stare. Her glossy silver eyes practically bore into my soul, and I found myself having a hard time speaking.

"Um…" I started.

Her face was flushed and she just stared at me, some tears still streaming down her cheeks, her gaze wary and unsure.

'_First contact Drake...make a good impression' _

"..." I held out one of the cookie sandwiches in my hand to her "Here, I have an extra"

'_...fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck! What the fuck was that!? "I have an extra" what the hell man!? That's the best I could come up with!?' _I internally berated myself as I held it out to her.

The girl paused and stared at it in surprise...and then carefully reached out for it and took hold of it "Oh...um...thank you" She thanked quietly as she pulled it towards herself, looking down at it with her face scrunched up.

"...um" She looked at me in mild curiosity as I tried to speak "Mind if I sit down with you?"

The girl shuffled where she sat "Oh...uh...sorry, g-go ahead" She hesitantly gestured to a spot on her right.

I graciously took the offer, and slowly sat down in the spot she gestured to.

.

.

.

And I was at a loss as to what to do next _'...shit, what do I do now!? Why am I so bad at this!?´ _Being a loner for most of my life might have something to do with it _'Gotta be something I can say-'_

"S-Sorry…"

My head snapped out of my thoughts and I turned it towards her "Sorry…?"

"Y-You heard me crying right?" She asked quietly, she just held onto the cookie sandwich I gave her, she didn't even open it "I'm sorry if it bothered you…" She looked down, ashamed at this moment of weakness, some more tears streamed down her face.

.

.

.

'_...screw it' _I thought to myself sternly, and carefully turned myself to face her _'Stop acting like a fucking awkward teenager, she doesn't need that right now' _

"Actually, I saw what happened earlier" I started off, to which she flinched "I...came to make sure you would be okay, I know what its like to deal with something like that"

She paused, and then looked up from the cookie sandwich she stared at to me "...y-you do?'

My face scrunched up a bit at the memories surfacing "Yeah, I know what its like to have people you think as friends...not really be your friends" I said vaguely, I didn't want to go into details of my past with a stranger.

She hugged her legs closer to her "...why?...why did...is something wrong with me-?"

"No"

Her eyes widened in surprise at my interruption, she looked over at me again.

I shook my head and stared at her firmly "No, there is nothing wrong with you, don't go down that line of thought, I have, and its _wrong_"

"...but, why then?" She asked, almost desperately "There must be something wrong with me-"

"If you keep saying that I'm going to hit you in the head"

She tensed up in shock.

'_That line of thought is wrong, it is self-destructive and __**wrong**__' _There were so many times I questioned myself what was wrong with me, so many times I felt hurt because of it, its agony.

I scooted closer, to which she stiffened at, I leaned over to her so our faces were only a few inches apart, and I stared into her glossy eyes with a stern look…

"_Your_ not the problem, _they_ are"

Her eyes widened and she shuffled nervously under the stern gaze "But-"

"Did you ever _once_ hurt them?"

She blinked "W-What!? No! Of course not!" She yelled.

"Did you ever try to use them for your own gain?"

"N-No!" She answered again, her voice picking up to defend herself.

"Did you ever treat them like they weren't worth your time?" I questioned one final time.

"No!" She yelled indignantly, slamming her free hand into the grassy earth.

"Then there's nothing wrong with you" I stated as fact "They're the ones who tried to take advantage of you, they're the ones who didn't think you were worth their time, they're the ones who _**hurt **_you"

I retreated myself back to give her some space "Don't try to blame yourself for what they did, their the problem, not you"

"..." She sat their, speechless, and just stared at me.

I rubbed the back of my neck _'...looks like its starting to dig in' _I sighed and glanced at her sandwich "Your ice cream is melting"

She snapped out of her trance and looked at the melting ice-cream, and the tense mood in the atmosphere was lightened.

"O-Oh, right!" She took bite of the cookie sandwich...and smiled slightly at the taste "mmm, thish iz gwood" She said through her full mouth.

My lips quirk up in a small smile at her delight "Don't talk with you mouth full" I said simply as I ate my melting ice-cream as well _'These can get messy when they melt, annoying…' _

She finished her cookie way before I do, gobbling it up at ridiculous speeds _'Jeez, and that was pretty big too…' _I blinked at the speed at which she finished it, and the satisfied smile on her face, I was only half-way…

"...you want the rest?" I offered it to her, I wasn't that hungry, and I really wanted to see it again.

"O-Oh um...if you don't mind…" She said shyly, but took it nonetheless and ate it with vigor, just like the first one she ate it up quickly.

"Damn…" I muttered quietly, I was impressed.

She blushed, and then pointed at me "S-Swear!" She yelled.

I stare at the girl incredulously "...what are you? Five?"

"H-Hey!" She yelled in offence "I'm fifteen!"

Staring still, I raised an eyebrow "And yet you called me out on a swear word?" I asked, still incredulous.

She crossed her arms in a huff "You shouldn't say them!"

Who does she think she is? Commander of the swear jar? "I'll say whatever the hell I want" I told her bluntly, crossing my arms.

"Swear!"

"Wha…? Hell is a place, not a swear" I corrected. People always used it as a swear word, but its a place, possibly an imaginary place, but still a place!

She stared at me...she put a hand over her mouth and started giggling...and I started chuckling, I couldn't help it with the sudden release of tension in the air.

It died down after a few moments "Hehe…um…" Red hood nervously glanced at me "...thank you" She said quietly.

"..." I stayed silent for a moment, processing the gratitude in her voice _'...well, looks like I did it, good job me, you cheered her up' _I felt a bit of a swell of pride in my chest at that.

'_Well, I should get going...' _

I started to stand up, and I noticed she was surprised at the action "Well...uh…" I hesitated for a moment before picking my words "You gonna be okay?"

"Um…" She stared at the ground for a moment, and then she wiped her eyes with her forearm and gave a small smile at me "y-yeah...not right now, but I think I will be…"

"Good" I said, and then started to turn around "I should be going...don't let those girls get to you, if your genuinely trying to make friends, then its them who has something wrong with them" There wasn't really anything else to say, and so I started walking

.

.

.

After a few seconds of silent walking, I heard a shout "...w-wait!" A few rose petals flew by my head, and I heard a slip and a crash into the pavement.

I whipped my head around and saw the red hooded girl face first laying on the stone path "H-Hey!" I called out to her as I ran and crouched to her side "Are you okay!?" She just face planted into cement, that had to hurt. I attempted to grab her by her bicep and helped lift her up-

So it surprised me when she just brought her head up and shook it off like it was nothing, looking fairly unharmed as she stared at me pleadingly "W-Wait! Don't go yet! I-I didn't even get your name…"

I blinked at her apparent state _'Is she just good at taking a fall? Wait_, _she_ _asked_ _me_ _a_ _question…_'

"Oh, uh…" I muttered to myself as she got up and stood back on her feet.

Her eyes widened and she waved her hands "Wait! Sorry! I-I didn't even introduce myself first…" She nervously held out her hand.

"My name's Ruby Rose" She gave a sheepish smile, shuffling her feet.

_Ruby Rose: Huntress-in-training. Silver-eyed warrior._

I stared at the girl, blinking slowly _'What?...huntress? Like, for hunting animals? And what the hell is a silver eyed warrior? And what the hell is with these sudden bursts of information I __**know **__I didn't have before!?' _

But I don't have time to dwell on that, she's patiently waiting for me to shake her hand, and I took it. I noticed my hand was pretty big compared to hers.

"Drake Joseph" I greeted politely.

She blinked "Drake... Joseph?" The girl said, testing it on her tongue "...that's a weird name" She giggled a little.

'_Weird!?' _I stare at her in annoyance "Who's name are you calling weird?"

"S-Sorry!" She apologized suddenly "Its just, really different from normal"

I raised an eyebrow _'And yours isn't weird?' _"Yeah? Well what's with your name? 'Ruby Rose'? How poetic" I shot back with a faux mocking tone.

"H-Hey!" Shouted indignantly, balling up her hands "My name's not weird!"

"If your name's not weird, then mine sure as hell isn't"

She bit her lip in frustration and crossed her arms while giving me a mock glare _'Cute' _I thought dryly.

"Anyway…" I trailed off, looking off to the side "I should be going, I'm new around here and I need to find the library" A reasonable enough explanation.

She perked up at after I said, an excited look in her eye and a smile on her face "I know where that is!"

Ruby then realized how loud she was being and her face flushed in embarrassment, she looked away from me "I-I mean...I know where it is, if your new here I can...show you around" She said meekly.

'_Well...that could certainly solve some of my problems...but...what about that strange urge that came from earlier?' _I still have no idea what the hell that was, I can´t feel it anymore, but still.

'_Then there's that random burst of information...none of this started to happen until I saw her. What the hell even is that?' _I know I didn't have that information before. It seemed...not unnatural, more surprising, as if I was just remembering something on the tip of my tongue, it just pops up like it was always there, but I know for certain that wasn't the case.

It was the strangest feeling, I know this knowledge isn't mine, yet its there. I know I never learned this myself, yet it comes to the front of my mind as if its common sense.

One thing is for certain, I'm not sure its a good idea to stay around this girl.

"I wouldn't want to bother you, I can go on my own…" I stated, and as soon as those words left my mouth her shoulders dropped and she looked to the ground.

Her eyes wavered "O-Oh...o-okay, sorry…"

'_...holy shit my chest feels like there's a hole in it _' Why do I feel guilty?

I look at her with uncertainty, it feels like I just kicked a puppy _'Does she really want to help me that bad?...maybe she just doesn't want to be alone right now' _

She just realized that her friends were just using her, a single talk from some random stranger isn't gonna fix it all. Should I let her though? Is it that strange force that's making me consider it in the first place?

...no, the feeling is different. Its didn't affect my judgement. When I chose to help her, that force had nothing to do with it, I chose that under my own power.

"Sorry for bothering...it was nice to meet you" She said quietly, and hesitantly turning around.

The look of disappointment on her face didn't sit right with me.

No one was there for me when I went through those shitty moments with cruel people, and while I'm fine being alone now, its not necessarily the same with her.

.

.

.

"...well, if you're sure you want to, I could probably use the help" I said offhandedly to her, making Ruby stop in her tracks.

I might regret this later, but it doesn't sit right with me to just leave her like this. Ruby seems like a decent person so far, she's given me no reason to be mistrustful of her, and she was just hurt by people betraying her trust.

And who better to help her than someone who understands it first hand?

"R-Really!?" She twirled around to face me, her mood instantly brightened. She then paused, and flushed again in embarrassment "I-I mean, its no trouble! The library, right? Its this way!" She pointed to her right and started walking, beckoning to me follow with a small skip in her step.

I hesitated at first...but then followed her quietly _'Well, at the very least I'll find a library' _

* * *

**_Captaindrake123: Alright, getting into it now! Meet your protagonist, Drake Joseph. A sixteen year old loner lost and confused on another planet. You can tell he's not exactly had the best of pasts (He had to have a reason to learn those self-defense skills), but he's got a good heart (even though he sometimes wished he didn't). _**

**_But what is up with that sudden knowledge in his noggin? Where does it come from? Well, all will be answered in time. There will be subtle clues, and I wonder if you can figure it out. _**


	3. Chapter 3 A Day Out on the Town

_**Chapter 3: A Day out on the Town**_

The town felt both familiar and alien, it held anything a normal town would: Buildings, cars, light posts, traffic lights, stores, and anything else you could think of to describe a town.

And yet it didn´t. I see crazy looking weapon advertisements casually posted on windows of magazine stores, flags I don´t recognize, and among the crowds of people there were some animal ears on top of their heads.

The closest I could compare this feeling to would be that of being in a foreign country, where the culture and people to you is strange and different, but to everyone else its just another daily thing in their lives.

Like those kids who looked like their armed and ready for a fight, but are just talking casually and eating at a nearby ice cream shop. No one spares a single glance except for me.

_´What the fuck…' _I thought to myself as I nervously glanced at them at the corner of my vision, one of them has nunchucks. _Nunchucks_!

¨-and there´s my favorite dust shop!" I hear ahead of me, and looked to see the short girl with a red cape pointing to said shop, glowing powdery substances on display at the window.

_´Dust: Remnant´s main resource, used in the making of its machines and the electricity that powers homes´ _

_´That is so fucking weird...´ _I thought to myself, just numbly nodding to Ruby, and then rubbing my forehead at the slight headache.

Its been around twenty minutes since we left the park, and Ruby has been showing me around the area. To which I find myself not minding at all, as I felt _so_ out of place here.

The sudden bursts of knowledge, while are technically helping, are also _not_ helping my emotional state. With all of these strange things happening, I´m surprised I´m not having a mental breakdown...

Actually, I think the reason I´m not having one now is because I already had one last night screaming at a shattered moon-which, I´m still wondering how it ended up in that state in the first place.

¨So uh...¨ I paused from my musings to look at the red hooded girl slowing down to walk beside me ¨You´ve...never been to Patch before?¨ She asked nervously, twiddling her thumbs.

¨Uh...no, I just got here¨ In a flash of white light, that is ¨I´m from...pretty far away, and I didn´t really expect to find myself here¨ Who expects to be sent to another planet?

She nodded, laughing nervously ¨I think I get it, new place, right?¨

¨Yeah...¨ That place being an entirely new fucking _world. _

.

.

.

This is awkward.

I´m not really sure what to do, I mean, I know she doesn´t want to be alone or anything, but I´m not exactly the best of company. I rarely talk to people outside of my family, not because I´m shy or a shut-in, but because I genuinely don´t care.

I´m a loner, I hate people, they suck. If they don't wanna be with me, why the _hell _would I wanna be with them?

She literally picked the most anti-social person, not that she had a lot of options in the first place.

¨Well...uh...so do you like it so far?¨ Ruby asked, to which I raised my eyebrow ¨Patch!" She explained suddenly ¨Do you like Patch?"

I paused for a moment, unpleasant scenes popping up in my head ¨Its...¨

_¨Kill the human scum!¨ _

_¨There is nowhere to run human!" _

I cringed at the memory of being shot at ¨...peachy¨ I finally settled on, to which she frowned in uncertainty. I don´t imagine my answer did her any favors.

¨Oh...uh...okay?¨

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.

.

Only two anti-socials could suck this bad at socializing.

We stopped in front of some large building with at least three floors, I see the label ´Patch´s Main Library´ over the large door ¨Uh...here it is!¨ She made a grand gesture ¨The library! Filled with paper and boredum!¨ She nervously joked.

I actually chuckled a bit at it, to which she seemed happy. I didn't laugh because it was funny, but the attempt at casually making a joke calmed me a bit.

¨Thanks, it could´ve taken me hours to find this by myself¨ I thanked sincerely. Considering how I´ve been staring or gawking at the things around me, it really might have taken me hours to find this place.

¨W-Well...your welcome!¨ She smiled widely at me ¨Glad to help!¨

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.

.

We both just awkwardly stood, a woman with a baby carriage walked by us and the baby in said carriage laughed at whatever a baby thought was funny, its voice faded as they got further away.

¨Um...so, yeah...¨ Ruby´s face scrunched up a bit ¨Here you go...I´ll uh...you need any help?¨ She asked in uncertainty.

¨Um...no, I can probably just ask the librarian¨ I said with a shrug, glancing to the side.

¨Right! Right...¨ The red hooded girl looked down trodden ¨Uh...I guess I´ll see you around then?¨

¨Uh, yeah...¨ I nodded hesitantly ¨See you around¨

I began walking towards the door, reaching for the handle…

Then stopped.

My face scrunched up _´...ugh, come on Drake! I don´t care HOW anti-social you are! That was fucking pathetic!´ _I shouted at myself in my head, glaring at the floor.

I chose to let her show me to the library, I chose to keep her company, and I´ve been really _shitty _company. She just got dumped by those bitches she once called friends, I know exactly what that´s like, and here I am doing nothing but acting like an awkward teenager!

I´m frustrated with myself. But truth be told, I don´t know what to do. She´s an alien, I don´t know about the culture or background here and could insult her unintentionally... but I´m _certainly _not helping her by doing nothing.

The library is just in front of me though, I´m in a place I know nothing about. Am I really gonna risk my well-being by trying to help a girl I don't even know?

.

.

.

I took one glance behind me and see the back of the girl with a red cape, a hood drawn over head, her body language telling she´s unsure of what to do.

_´You know what that´s like, and no one was there for you, are you gonna let her do it alone too?´_

I´m not looking forward to more of that awkwardness, but it´d be pretty shitty of me to just leave her like this. I can do _better_ than this.

First contact, that´s what this is, and I am failing miserably.

Lowering my hand from the handle, I sighed. My conscience won out over self-preservation, and I turned around and walked up to her ¨Ruby¨

She jerked her head to me in surprise ¨Oh-um...yes?¨

I paused, thinking on what to say, on what I could do. Glancing at the street, I don´t recognize anything about it, she knows this place better than me ¨You mind... showing me around Patch? Like, a full tour?¨

Pausing, Ruby looked up at me in confusion ¨D-Don´t you need the library?¨

Waving it off, I spoke ¨I can check it out later, but if you don´t have the time-¨

¨Okay!¨ She said quickly, getting right in front of me right as I blinked. Her smile was huge at first, but then coughed to herself in embarrassment ¨I...uh, I mean I... have a lot of free time right now¨ She said the last part quietly.

´After having it cleared up with what happened at the park earlier´, was left unspoken. _´Take her mind off it´ _¨Well, you know about any fun spots around here?" I asked ¨Like an arcade... or maybe a comic book store if there´s one around here?¨

I don´t know what I said that did it, but she suddenly went from sullen to a huge toothy smile, her eyes practically sparkling.

* * *

¨Hi Azure!¨ Ruby greeted as we walked through the entrance, I looked around curiously at the unfamiliar covers all around me. Nothing, no DC or Marvel. Full of another world´s stories of superheroes.

The guy at the counter looked up from a comic he was reading, and from what I can see its called _´Phantom Soul: A hero´s journey´,_ he had blue hair-which fucking baffled me with how natural it looked- and light blue eyes ¨Oh, hey Ruby¨ He greeted ¨What are you looking for today?¨

¨Just showing someone around, he just came to Patch!¨ She chirped.

She´s a regular here, its official. I have found a girl that likes comic books.

One in a million..._´Or is that the norm here?´ _

Now _that _thought had me mentally reeling for a moment.

Looking around again, I glanced at the completely unfamiliar covers ¨...I have no idea where to start¨ I admitted bluntly.

Ruby blinked owlishly, turning to me ¨But- I thought you said you like comic books?"

¨I do¨ I confirmed, inspecting one of the covers again before turning to her ¨But I´ve never seen these ones... got any recommendations?"

Ruby paused, glancing about. Suddenly she sped over to the corner of the store _´Holy shit she is fast...´ _I already knew that, but it was still unbelievable.

I mean, wow, she is _fast_.

And just as fast as she sped away, she came back in a flash (lol), holding up a comic with a familiar image.

A superhero with a black hood, casting a thick shadow over his face. This was the same guy on the cover of the comic that clerk was reading ¨Phantom Soul, issue twenty-one! Its about a teenage superhero going on a crusade to save all of Vale´s people! He´s my favorite!¨

He certainly looks cool. Kinda like Batman…

Grabbing the comic, I nodded ¨It looks good, I think I´ll like it¨ I said honestly, inspecting the back for the summary.

¨You really never heard of him?¨ She asked in confusion ¨Most comic book lovers like him, its been picking up in popularity"

I shook my head ¨Uh...I´m from really far away, we didn´t really have a lot of comics unfortunately, but I read what I could find¨ I smiled distantly ¨My dad and I always watched superhero movies...¨

_´Calm down´ _I told myself _´You´ll get back´_

I have to believe that.

¨Really?¨ She smiled, looking very interested ¨ What kind of heroes do you like?¨

It kind of felt weird to have that much interest taken in me, but I answered ¨The ones' without superpowers¨

Ruby blinked in surprise ¨Really? Why?¨ She asked in confusion.

¨Well...¨ I hesitated, thinking of how to answer ¨...they´re more relatable, I guess¨ I started ¨They´re ordinary people, no powers or magic, and still rise up to be a hero, whether through just hard work or ingenuity, it really shows that even regular people can do something heroic¨

Looking at Ruby for her response, she seemed surprised. She took a moment to herself, and then nodded ¨Yeah, I think I get it¨ She smiled, and then pointed to the comic in my hand ¨Phantom Soul doesn´t have any powers¨

I gave a small smile in return ¨I might like him then, you want anything?¨

¨Nope!¨ Ruby rushed to the counter ¨Come on! Pay! I got other places to show you!¨ She said excitedly.

* * *

¨And this is the Patch Delight!¨ She gestured to the restaurant in front of us with a huge smile, it seemed like any other typical one, bold letters of the restaurant name on top of the building, windows showing large booths and people eating in them.

My eyes stopped on a sign on a nearby window that said _"Help Wanted!"_

Already found a place to get a job at, good. I´m gonna have to look up the laws of employment and the minimum wage, but I´ll check back here ¨Looks like its busy¨ I commented.

¨Yeah! A lot of people from Signal come here¨ Ruby said simply.

_´Signal: An academy that teaches young huntsmen and huntresses-in-training from twelve to sixteen years of age´ _

I shudder. Fuck, I´m not gonna get used to that.

_´Still don´t know what a huntsmen is... but I´m guessing its a combat profession. A soldier?´ _I thought to myself, seeing some people around my age in the restaurant with weapons on their sides _'_Child_ soldiers?' _

The thought disgusts me, but I try not to let it take over my judgement _'I don't know what kind of situation this planet is in, I shouldn't judge them on what little I know' _

Pushing that thought aside, I went to a comparatively tamer topic._ 'They are much more lax about weapons here it seems. Are they not worried someone might start something?´ _I doubt that even people from Texas would be this lax about personal weaponry.

"Well…" Hearing Ruby's voice, I listen ¨I actually come here a lot myself along with-..." Ruby suddenly went quiet.

_´Huh?´ _I glance at her in concern, her mouth was contorting to a frown and had a sad look in her eyes _´Why did she-oh, of course she means she hung out with her friends here!´ _I mentally facepalm.

Thinking quickly on what to do, I pointed my thumb to the door ¨Wanna get something to go? My treat¨ I offered as I stepped forward, opening up the door for her politely.

She snapped out of her trance, waving her arms around ¨Y-You don´t have to…¨

¨Its fine¨ I reassured ¨Your showing me around, its the least I can do...just don´t get anything _too _expensive¨ Gotta think about saving money, still not entirely sure how currency works or how much I have.

¨...okay, if you insist¨ She walked through the door, glancing at me in uncertainty.

I held the door open, seeing an old lady with a walking cane slowly walking out of the restaurant ¨Oh! Thank you young man¨ She said gratefully, looking to me.

I nodded to her with a polite smile ¨Your welcome mam¨ Letting her walk by me, I walked through the door myself.

Coming in, I stopped to notice Ruby staring at me a little, and when she discerned that I noticed she gave a small smile.

¨...what?¨ I asked in confusion.

¨That was nice¨ She said .

I raised an eyebrow ¨Its just holding a door, its common courtesy-where I´m from¨ I quickly added, I _got_ to remember that I´m on a different planet.

Ruby just nodded, looking a little happy for some reason.

_´Is opening a door for someone a huge kindness here?...no, that sounds ridiculous, she just probably thinks I´m polite´ _Part of me is seriously starting to regret not going to the library.

Its so confusing, everything feels different yet familiar. Not the kind of familiar as in ¨I know this place¨, but I know what _type _of place it is, how people are. Its a town. It doesn´t feel much different from walking around people back home, yet when I take a closer look it is strange to me.

I can easily get caught up in just acting normally, but then I remember that I am not in a normal place. That´s dangerous, if Star Trek has taught me anything, its that other cultures have different standards.

...what if they have death spots?

_´I don´t want to be Wesley Crusher!´_ I mentally panic.

I feel poking at my arm ¨Drake? You okay?¨ I hear Ruby ask.

¨Yeah, I´m fine¨ I said plainly to the shorter girl, but on the inside I´m completely freaking out. Even as one of the employees led us to a table to wait for someone to take our order, I can't help the internal turmoil my mind is going through.

Glancing at Ruby, I see her nervous expression too, shuffling her feet with her eyes staring at the floor.

.

.

.

_´Your fine, calm down, you can´t help her if your freaking out´ _ Deep breath, hold five seconds...release ¨So¨ She looked up at me when I spoke, I gesture to one of the menus ¨What do you want?¨

* * *

Mental note: Hot dogs and French fries are a thing here too.

Taking a few fries, I threw them into my mouth and savored the taste. I didn´t notice that I was hungry earlier, probably because of the constant paranoia.

Ruby nibbled on a burger in her hands as we walked down the sidewalk ¨Anfwish iz the arfade¨ She got out through her chewing. I´m gonna guess she´s showing me an arcade since she´s gesturing to the building with arcade games through the windows.

Mental note: Arcade games are a thing here too.

¨Yow fwanna gfo prway?¨ I hear ask as she turned to me, I take a step back to avoid the spit´s line of fire.

¨Please swallow your food, your spitting¨ I chastise lightly ¨I don´t wanna see the inside of your mouth either¨

Her eyes widened a little before swallowing, and then realised she did it too fast while pumping her chest. I just stared at the display as she continued to choke for a moment…

I offered my soda next to her face, something called ´Schnee-Cola´, she immediately grabbed it and slammed the beverage with loud slurping of the straw.

¨...guh!¨ She breathed a sigh of relief, I just chuckled. Hearing my amusement, she sent a small glare my way ¨What are you laughing at?¨

¨You¨ I said simply, she pouted at me while slugging me in the arm, which was weak.

It felt good to laugh, it was a bit relieving.

¨Not funny…¨ She flushed, looking up at me with an annoyed glare.

¨Sorry¨ I apologize with a small smirk, to which she only pouted again ¨What were you saying?¨

Previous embarrassment forgotten, she perked up and pointed to the arcade ¨Wanna go play? I know the best games here!¨

_´Arcade games huh?´ _¨Sounds like fun¨ I said honestly, it really does. Who doesn´t like mindless video games from time to time?

I think we both need a little mindlessness right now, which is probably the idea.

She quickly ran to the door, and she opened it for me with an amused smile ¨After you¨ She offered with a jokingly overly polite smile.

Raising an eyebrow at the action, I gave a small smirk and decided humor her ¨Why, thank you young lady¨ I returned while walking through the held door, she giggled a little while walking through herself.

Walking up to a coin machine, Ruby paid some Lien for hers, I discretely paid extra attention on what she put in. I think the ´Lien´ currency they use is based on different colors on the plastic cards if what I saw back at the restaurant and Ruby´s payment is anything to go by.

I mimicked her actions, taking the same amount she did. With some coins to use, Ruby tugged my sleeve and pointed over to the side ¨There´s the shooting game!¨

Walking with her, I stand in front of the machine as Ruby began putting coins in. I examined the cover of the machine, giant black monsters with strange bone armor marked it _´Interesting design´ _

´GRIMM HUNTIN´ is what it says its name is at the top. Suddenly feeling an object being put in my hands, I looked down to see the fake gun attached to the machine ¨C´mon! Whoever gets the most Grimm gets the other's tickets!¨ Ruby challenged cockily.

¨Alright...¨ I smirked, I´m pretty good at these games. Putting up the fake rifle, I aim at the screen ¨Don´t complain if you lose¨

¨I won´t¨

_´You won´t complain or you won´t lose? ´ _

Once the game started, I started firing at the strange black creatures on the screen. I´ve used BB guns before, and I shoot pretty well with them. Compare this to that, its nothing.

But the moment I look at Ruby´s side of the screen, I am completely surprised. She is blowing it away! She is pretty far ahead of me, and the gap between our scores is only growing longer. I´m not doing bad, but I need to pick up the pace.

And before I knew it, I lost ¨Ha!¨ Ruby cheered with a satisfied smile as the game ended, saying ´Player-1 Wins!´ ¨I win!¨

¨Damn...¨ I mutter, just looking at the score and felt a little inferior.

¨Swear!¨

¨Don´t care¨ I said, I turned to her ¨You must come here a lot...¨

¨Well, every now and then¨ She shrugs noncommittedly, collecting the tickets on the floor, which was a pretty good amount consider her score ¨I mean, compared to the real thing, this is child´s play¨

_´Real thing?´ _I remember the weapons I saw earlier on those teenagers ¨You own a rifle?¨ I asked before I could stop myself.

Suddenly she got a huge smile ¨Yeah! Her name´s Crescent Rose and-¨ She suddenly stopped, a nervous frown settled no her face ¨Uh, yeah, its a sniper rifle...yeah¨

I blinked owlishly, unsure of why she was suddenly going quiet. Although it is a bit concerning she owns a sniper rifle, I can only assume its normal on this planet considering all the weapons I saw earlier on other teenagers.

¨Oh, that´s pretty cool...what ammunition does it use?¨

¨Eh?¨

She looks surprised at the question ¨What ammo do you use?¨ I ask again ¨Three-o-eight? Forty-five? Or even point fifty caliber rounds?¨

Wait, they could have a completely different measuring system-

¨F-Fifty!¨ She quickly answered, her face relaxing ¨Its a custom made anti-material rifle, its also a scythe!¨

_´What?´ _¨A scythe?¨ I asked in bafflement _´Did I mishear…?´ _

¨Uh-yeah! I know its a bit weird to have such a large weapon for someone my size, but I´m really good with it!¨

_´That´s not what I meant...so she has a scythe and a sniper rifle in one? That sounds...´ _¨That sounds like a cool weapon¨

¨I know right!?¨ Ruby smiled brightly again, I just nodded to her. That sounded awesome! _´But how would that work?´ _

Suddenly whipping out one of those weird phones I saw earlier, the hologram display activated. I just stared at the hologram itself in awe for a moment before focusing on the picture ¨I made her myself!¨

The picture was one of a workshop table with tools scattered around, and at the center of attention was a giant red _scythe_ with mechanical workings and a clear gun barrel and ammo slot, in fact the cartridge is laying right next to it with a strangely familiar snowflake symbol .

¨She´s a beauty...¨ I awed, even an amateur at guns like myself can easily tell that it was well made. I can see the clear scratches from use, but yet the blade and barrel are clean and well maintained.

The mechanical parts caught my eye the most, attached to the scythe blade and with the barrel just above it, I can see the parts where it moved, and from what I could tell it looks like the scythe blade folds in it on itself, making it more compact.

_´What kind of weapons does this place have?´ _

¨Yep! She´s my baby…¨ She cooed.

I then stopped ¨Wait...you _made_ that?¨ I asked in surprise.

¨Yep!¨ She chirped, closing her scroll ¨All students from Signal create their own weapons, its a right of passage for a huntress!¨

_´Ah...another thing I don´t know about...´ _

¨What´s yours?¨ She asked curiously.

¨...huh?¨ I questioned.

¨Your weapon!¨

¨...I don´t have one¨ Well, not _technically _true, I do have my knives, but I didn´t make them ¨Uh...I´m not training to be a huntsmen¨ I went with that, its the truth. I don´t even know what they are.

She looked surprised ¨O-Oh...sorry, I assumed¨ Ruby rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment.

¨No-uh, its fine¨ I reassure _´There isn´t like a...¨class" system here, is there?´ _I really hope not, because for all I know huntsmen are at the top and its a punishment by death for a lower class to talk to them.

But she doesn´t seem that worried about it, so I think I can safely rule that out _´My mind keeps coming up with this stuff, I need to calm down´_

¨Well, I don´t know how to make a gun¨ I might know how to make bullets-or at least the powder that´s in them ¨but I do a lot of chemical experiments¨ I try to move the conversation along.

This time she looks up at me and tilts her head in confusion ¨...chemicals?¨

Baffled at her confusion, I try to elaborate ¨Um...you know, I mix different materials together and see what happens¨ Surely an advanced society would have a concept of chemistry, or something similar. The ground is made of _concrete_, which is achieved via chemical reactions. Cement powder mixed with water and aggregates-er, rocks.

¨...oh!¨ She said in realization, cutely pumping her fist into her open palm ¨You mix dust!¨

_´...huh?´ _That´s the energy source of this planet...Remnant. I don´t think I fully realized it at the time, but that sudden information gave me this planet´s name.

Remnant: a piece of something left behind, or what remains of something.

But while I idly noted the name of this planet, I stared at the girl incredulously.

¨That´s pretty cool! Although a bit dangerous-¨

¨Wait¨ I raise my hand to stop her before she can continue ¨No, that´s not what I meant, I´m talking about Chemistry¨

¨...Chemistry?¨ She tilts her head in confusion.

_´Seriously!?´ _The very ground she walks on is based on that science. Her internal bodily functions have a base on it. She eats, which means her stomach needs to break down the food and turn into energy via acids, and chemically transfer it throughout her body.

_´Maybe they have a different name for it´ _¨You...mix different materials together, heat them up, cool them, and mix them so their not the same as before¨ I explain ¨You turn what your given into something else¨

Her face scrunches up more in confusion ¨...I´m not-¨

¨Excuse me!¨ I jolt my head behind me, some other guy points to the machine ¨You two gonna move?¨

¨Oh! Uh, sorry!¨ Ruby apologized, and I followed. We both moved away, I heard grumbling something about ´stupid teenagers´, I ignore it and just walk along with Ruby.

¨...so, yeah, I don´t really get it¨ She said, scratching the top of her head ¨What do you mean? What do you mix together without dust?¨

_´Is this ¨Dust¨ thing really that important around here?´ _I thought to myself, I take a moment to think on how to explain ¨...do you bake?¨

¨Oh, yeah! Sometimes!¨

¨There´s a chemical reaction right there¨ I said simply, she looked to me to explain ¨Flower, butter, all that stuff-you put them together, heat it up, and it changes to a delicious pastry, right? Its like that, only its more broad and has other uses too¨

Ruby pauses, nodding to herself ¨Yeah, I think I get it...so you use cooking supplies to make other things?¨

.

.

.

I just stare at her ¨...no¨ Rubbing my face, I feel my lecture mode coming on ¨You know what? How about I show you?¨ I shrug off my backpack.

¨Show me…?¨

I have a small secure box with some chemicals that I was going to use for an experiment on the camping trip. Nothing that would harm the environment, but it could´ve started a small fire if I´m not careful, but I always take precautions.

Although, I should feel lucky it didn't break during that whole debacle with those animal people, I chalk that up to the extra padding I put in them.

Taking out a box along with a petri dish, I take the small vials labeled ´P.P´ and ´G´, Ruby pays close attention ¨This¨ I shake the ´P.P.´ ¨is Potassium Permanganate¨ I shake the other ¨and this is Glycerin¨

I put them together in the petridish in small amounts ¨Watch them react¨

The droplets and crystals of the chemicals mixed together for a few moments, and then burst into a purple flame!

¨Whoa!¨ Ruby said in awe, taking a closer look at it ¨So cool!¨

_´Isn´t it?´ _I think to myself, I always thought this sort of stuff was cool.

¨When these two fully mix together, they break each other down and make heat and gas, turning it into a purple flame¨ I explained. There was more to it than that, the different elements in the ingredients combining, but that is the simple version.

She was still aweing at it ¨Cool~!¨

¨Hey!¨ I hear someone call, I look over my shoulder, seeing a blonde man with a ´manager´ tag attached to his shirt ¨What are you doing in here!? A fire!?¨

_´...crap!´_

Ruby looked between me and the manager, dropped the tickets, and then suddenly grabbed my hand _´Wha-´_ ¨RUN!¨ And there was a blur of red.

¨Hey! Get back-w-AH!¨ I briefly see the manager fall on his ass in a puddle of spilled soda.

* * *

I found myself blinking in astonishment as I leaned against a wall, and Ruby was panting from the running.

_´So that´s what its like to go at super speeds...´ _I feel like I wanna hurl ¨Ugh...¨ I hold my stomach painfully, my inners were upset and the feeling of nausea is taking a while to dissipate.

Looking over to Ruby, I see her looking back...¨Hehe...¨ She giggled.

¨...hehe¨ I found myself chuckling, apparently sharing the amusement with her.

Or is it relief?

¨Sorry...¨ I found myself saying ¨My bad¨ I felt kinda guilty for getting us into trouble like that. I really need to watch what I do.

Normally I wouldn´t do that, at least not in a public place like an arcade, the stress of all this must be getting to me.

¨Its fine¨ She giggled a bit more ¨...the way he tripped as he tried to chase us!¨

¨He slipped on some soda¨ I shook my head, feel a tiny curl of my lips going upward.

Looking around the area to get a feel for where we are, I stood still at the sight of the broken water tower nearby _´Oh no...´ _

¨Hey¨ I tensed up at Ruby´s voice, looking in the same direction as me ¨What´s that?¨

I quickly calm myself, taking a glance at her and looking back at the scene, pretending to look bewildered as I raised an eyebrow at the scene ¨It looks like a water tower fell...¨ I said evenly.

¨That explains the water everywhere¨ Ruby said, looking at the puddles littered across the sidewalk and road, tapping one of them with the tip of her foot ¨Weird, whenever I came by it never looked like it would fall...¨

No comment.

¨Wanna go check it out?" Ruby asked, looking at me hopefully.

I frowned in uncertainty, I can´t just flat out deny her. That´s suspicious, and I really don´t need suspicion right now.

I should feel lucky I can blend in so easily on a different planet.

¨Sure¨ I agreed ¨But we should keep our distance, wouldn´t want to get in their way¨ It was a reasonable compromise.

¨Got it!¨ She began jogging over, and I followed. I feel a bit nervous, they say that the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime.

Am I a criminal? No, but I certainly feel like one.

Slowing down as we approached, Ruby looked around the area ¨Whoa...is that blood?¨ She asked in concern, and I take a look in her direction.

Dried up blood.

_´Did I kill the guy…?´ _My chest feels tight. Sure, I wanted to stop him... but I didn´t want to _kill _anyone.

I did drop a water tower on him...but he was something of a superhuman, right? And even so, he tried to kill me...I dunno how I should feel about it.

¨Hey!¨ We both tense up at the voice of a police officer, and I feel my inner turmoil being pushed to the side in favor of paying attention to him ¨What are you kids doing here?¨

Ruby waved her hands about nervously ¨Ah-sorry officer! We were wondering what happened here"

¨So does everyone else¨ He sighed, and then paused, staring at the red caped girl beside me ¨Wait a second...your Taiyang´s daughter!¨ he pointed to her.

I blinked _´Taiyang? Is he important?´ _

Am I with the daughter of some important figure on this world!?

¨You know my dad?¨ I broke out of my thoughts at Ruby´s surprised voice.

He nodded with a small nostalgic smile ¨Yeah! Taiyang´s helped a few times on some of my cases, I consider him a friend¨ He held out his hand to her ¨The name´s Morado Teal, Chief Police officer¨

Ruby smiled, shaking his hand ¨Ruby Rose!¨

He smiled politely ¨Well miss Rose, it seems like your father raised a nice young lady¨ Her face flushed in embarrassment at the praise ¨You might not know this, but I met you as a baby¨

I only stood to the side awkwardly, politely keeping out of the conversation. Its unnerving to be so close to a police officer, not because I distrust police, but because I have no idea how the law works here.

¨And who´s this?¨ I´m snapped out of my thoughts from his eyes on me ¨Your boyfriend?¨ He gives a small teasing smile.

Ruby´s face immediately grew red and waved her hands about in denial ¨N-No! No way! We´re not like that!¨

The Chief lets out a hiss ¨Oh, that´s cold¨

She seems to freeze up, and then turns to me ¨Not that there´s anything wrong with you!"

I raised an eyebrow ¨I didn´t think there was…?¨

He's obviously messing with us.

¨He´s just someone I´m showing around, he´s new to Patch!¨ Ruby chirped.

The Chief´s eyes narrowed at me ¨...really?¨ His eyes narrowing as he looked up and down.

_´Why do I feel like I´m being examined?´ _I´m a bit more self-conscious of the scrape on my leg.

¨When did you get here?" He asked curiously, but I could see the suspicious gleam in his eye.

So I didn´t change my stance, I didn´t react. I looked him in the eye, to show I had nothing to hide, but only so blatant enough that I was showing respect to a police chief.

¨Yeah, just came here yesterday actually¨ That was true, its important to use the truth as much as possible.

¨I see¨ He put out his hand for me, I gripped it ¨Nice grip, I hope you enjoy your time here¨

¨It seems like a nice place¨ _´Aside from the trigger happy animal people, it actually does´ _But I wouldn´t wanna live here.

But I might just have to, at least until I find a way home.

¨By the way, your leg okay?¨ He asked out of nowhere, and I felt more self-conscious, aware of how my heartbeat was picking up a bit of speed.

Ruby glanced down at my leg ¨Whoa-I didn´t notice, are you alright?¨

_´Figured he´d ask...stick to the truth as much as possible´ _There´s no way I could bold-face lie to a trained Chief police officer, so I´ll only leave out some information, and let him come to his own conclusions.

¨Well, last night I did have a bad run in with a maniac¨ I scratched the back of my head, and suddenly the two of them are both really interested ¨He was crazy, kept chasing me and calling me ´human scum´, I managed to get away but not without getting a nick in the leg"

The Chief stepped forward, concerned ¨You were assaulted? Why didn´t you call the police?¨

¨I didn´t have anything on me to call them with, still don´t actually¨ This is true, after all my phone doesn´t have a signal ¨I was planning on visiting the police station later to report it, but at the time I was just glad that I got away¨

¨Did you get a good look at his face?¨ He asked seriously.

¨No¨ I shook my head, it was true, and trying to convey that by looking him in the eye ¨He had a mask on...I think he was one of those White Fang guys, he wore black and white along with a red tiger symbol on his outfit¨

¨I see...¨ The Chief had a troubled expression ¨Where did this happen?¨

¨...I think it was around here actually¨ I said, pretending to be glancing around to confirm it ¨Yeah, it was, but it was before whatever happened with that tower¨ _Technically_ true. I did get cut before the tower fell.

Like, a minute before the tower fell, but still before.

¨That´s very troubling¨ He muttered to himself, glancing over his shoulder ¨Thank you for sharing this, although you should immediately report such things to the police station, I understand that its difficult to recall such a thing¨

I nodded slowly ¨Thank you officer¨

¨I should go then¨ The Chief turned around ¨You kids stay clear from here, and stay safe!¨ He yelled to us as he walked away.

_´Phew...nailed it…´ _I think to myself in relief, he seemed to buy it all. I really need to be more careful though.

¨You were assaulted?¨ I tense a little at Ruby´s voice, I turned to her and see she´s wide eyed in concern ¨Why didn´t you tell me that!?¨

¨...why would I wanna talk about that?¨ I asked bluntly. _´Who would want to talk about that to someone they just met!?´ _

¨W-Well, I´m a huntress-in-training! Its my job to deal with that sort of thing¨ She retorted weakly.

¨...you said ´ín-training´, as in, your not a huntress yet¨ I said bluntly.

_´Unless huntresses-in-training already...no, that´s dumb, no one would seriously think that you should throw them into the fire before completing their training´ _

_´But then again…' _I find myself thinking _´Who trains a bunch of teenagers to fight with things like a...a...a scythle? Yeah, I´ll call it a scythle´ _

¨Yeah...well...whatever!¨ Ruby huffed and crossed her arms, looking away with a pout on her face.

It seemed I was right, I sighed and glanced to the side-_´Oh no´ _

That woman-the blue haired woman with cat ears from that apartment window last night…

_¨Are you...coming onto me?"_

That woman was coming out of the entrance to an apartment building _very _close by.

_´Shiiiiit!´ _I cursed internally, if she sees me and decides to rat me out to the cops, especially after I withheld information…it won´t end well, that´s for sure.

I quickly and silently move away, making sure to avoid any suspicion from the officers. I casually walk behind a car as I see her walk by, she seems to be in some sort of uniform, probably heading off to work.

I duck my head as soon as she looks my way, pretending to look appreciatively at the car like I´m a car enthusiast or something- I dunno, I´m trying to mimic the look my dad and brother get when they see a nice car.

For all I know this thing could be a piece of junk, or a pristine classic and rare car from twenty years ago. It doesn´t seem that old, what with the shiny red paint.

Once I see her walk around a corner, I sigh in relief ¨Phew...¨ I look over to Ruby to see her looking around, seeming dejected -_´Crap, she thinks I ditched her!´ _¨Ruby!¨ I called to her.

Ruby´s head snaps my way, seeming relieved, and jogs over ¨Hey! You disappeared on me!¨ She looked irritated.

¨Sorry...¨ I apologize awkwardly ¨I uh...thought I saw a nice car¨

She blinked slowly, confused ¨...a nice car?¨

¨...yeah, totally¨ I nodded slowly, I absently realize how weak that sounded ¨But it turned out to be just a regular one...¨

¨A regular one?¨

¨Yep¨ I popped the ´p´.

.

.

.

Ruby looked over my shoulder at the car I was looking at, and then back to me ¨...you like cars?¨ She asked suspiciously.

¨...yeah¨ _´No, I don´t even know what my family car is called´ _

She looked suspicious, glancing between me and the car in question ¨...what´s its name?¨ Ruby challenged.

.

.

.

¨...¨ I sighed tiredly ¨Fine, I was hiding from someone¨ I gave up, not even trying, it felt too stupid to continue that charade.

¨Ha! I knew it!¨ Ruby announced while pointing at me dramatically , then stopped and lowered it ¨Wait, who were you hiding from?¨

Now this was gonna be a bit more difficult to answer.

¨Uh...¨ I go over my own words in my head ¨...just someone I met when I first got here, there was a misunderstanding¨ _´Please don´t ask´ _

Ruby tilted her head in curiosity ¨Misunderstanding?¨ ´_Fuck, she asked´ _

I bit the inside of my cheek, and then sighed, deciding to go with the blunt approach and get it over with ¨I uh, told her I was looking for a cat, she apparently had cat ears...and she thought... I was trying to sleep with her...¨

¨...oh¨ Her eyes widened, and her cheeks grew red in embarrassment ¨Oh!¨

¨Yeah...¨ I said awkwardly, glancing to where I last saw the blue haired woman.

¨O-Okay, I see how that would awkward...¨ Ruby rubbed the back of her neck, looking down at the ground.

¨Right...¨

_´Please universe, just make this end already!´_

She probably thinks I´m a pervert or something, great…

"I uh…" Ruby rubbed the back of her head, looking to the side "...I understand why you hid...I honestly thought you ditched me" She said quietly, a bit trembly.

.

.

.

¨...my bad¨ I apologized, it was ridiculous how guilty this girl made me feel about it when I didn´t even actually ditch her. But she thought I did, and I feel like I´m still doing a shitty job of keeping her company.

None of this is ideal, and fuck the universe for making me deal with it.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke again ¨I didn´t mean to make you think that, I´m sorry¨

Ruby nodded, smiling a bit ¨Its fine, I´m the one who jumped to conclusions...¨

No, I would probably think someone ditched me too. But maybe that´s just me...

¨So...¨ I looked up-er, down at her when she spoke, she´s pretty short ¨...what do you wanna do?¨

Right now?

¨...can we just walk around?¨ I felt restless, and I also wanted to get away from here. Whenever look back at that water tower and some of the blood, I feel nervous and my blood runs cold.

I strangely have a bunch of excess energy, and I want to use that to get out of here.

¨...¨ Thankfully, Ruby smiled ¨Yeah, I think I´d like that¨

* * *

With the walk away from the water tower, I felt much more relaxed as me and Ruby made conversation. We talked for hours, which...honestly surprised me, I didn't realize how much time passed until I caught glimpse of Ruby's clock on her phone while she was showing me a picture.

¨Crescent Rose takes a lot of maintenance¨ She kept going on about her weapon ¨I gotta make sure the firing mechanism is cleaned thoroughly, and with how much I used the blades I have to sharpen it-¨

¨Which would be difficult because of its shape as a scythe¨ I commented, interested ¨I noticed that the blades are segmented, are they detachable? That would make it significantly easier to sharpen the blades¨

Ruby´s eyes _sparkled _¨Y-Yes! Exactly! Its also part of its mecha-shifting mechanism¨

Yes, we are talking about weapons.

It doesn´t take a detective to figure out that Ruby Rose is a gun-nut, but I mean that in a good way. She was clearly passionate about it, and I was very interested in the subject.

¨Mechashift?¨ That was an unfamiliar term, and I quickly deduced its meaning: Transforming ¨So it shifts from a scythe to a rifle?¨

¨Yep!¨ She chirped happily ¨She´s my pride and joy!¨

¨I can see why¨ I really could, that thing looked amazing. But maybe I´m biased, considering its the first of its kind I´ve ever seen.

Its kinda weird how casual the conversation is, considering the subject and how it would be treated with sensitivity back home. But maybe that´s another reason why it interests me, back home I wouldn´t be able to talk about these sort of things casually. Gun violence is such a sensitive topic, that even _mentioning_ how a gun works could set someone off.

But then again, I don´t talk to a lot of people anyway, so that kinda makes that statement a moot point.

"What about that thing you did earlier?" Ruby asked curiously "That...uh, chemistry?"

"Oh, uh, yeah" I remember clearly of the blunder I made earlier "Yeah, I practice chemistry, its a...bit of a passion for me"

"So...when I said I never heard of it before-"

"I felt a little offended, its pretty common where I'm from" Especially since my world is basically running on it, and so should this world… at least it should be.

But I guess whatever this dust stuff is, makes it so they don't have to learn about basic chemistry, although that begs the question if it is superior or inferior to chemistry. Add that to the list of things to look up in the library.

Ruby's eyes lit up "Oh! Where are you from?"

I already dug myself into a hole.

"Well...I said it was far away, you probably haven't heard of it"

Ruby looked thoughtful "Are you from outside the Kingdoms?"

"Yes" Something to latch onto, even if it might bite me in the ass later, I don't have a lot of other options.

Also...Kingdoms?

_Kingdoms: Atlas, Vale, Mistral, and Vacuo are the four kingdoms if Remnant and the lights of hope in the world for protection against the Grimm. _

Well, at least I know the names of the Kingdoms _'Wait….Grimm? That word was in the arcade earlier, is there something to that?' _

"It must have been hard" I was quickly brought back to reality "Living out there I mean" She seemed uncomfortable with the more she spoke about it, she was unsure of how much she should say.

'_...I understand it would be roughing it, but it can't be that hard...unless I'm missing something, is it these "Grimm"?' _

"Yeah, it sure can be" I scratch the back of my head awkwardly "But we got by and thrived"

"Well, that's good" Ruby smiled, looking unsure as to what to say next "I've lived most of my life on Patch, but when I become a huntress I plan to explore all of Remnant and help as many people as I can!"

I blinked slowly at the declaration, and opened my mouth to respond-

"Ah! Sorry!" Ruby waved her hands crazily "I-uh-get really passionate about it! Just ignore it!"

'_Why do you look so down?' _I thought to myself, seeing her sullen expression when she said that _'...how many times have people shot you down?' _

Its as if she expects me to call her an idiot.

While it is a bit naive sounding, its not a bad thing.

If anything, my world could use more people like that.

"Well, make sure you can do it then"

.

.

.

"...eh?" Ruby questioned, her eyes widened and baffled.

"Make sure you can do it" I repeated "You say you wanna be a huntress and help a lot of people right? Make sure you can do it"

Ruby seemed to be surprised by this to the point that she stopped walking altogether, I stopped along with her "...what do you mean?"

"...a bunch of people just scoff when you say what you want, right?" Her face cringed, and she looked away from me, confirming my suspicions "Probably saying its 'childish' and whatnot, but what they don't get…"

I tapped her head, and she looked up "Is that their opinion doesn't matter, its _your _dream" I tilted my head at her "Right?"

"U-um, yeah, it is…"

"So, instead of listening to them, focus on making sure you can achieve that dream" I shrug, I felt like some sort of motivational preacher, but maybe that's what she needs at the moment.

In some ways, she reminds me of myself.

Not in a good way, the part of myself back then that wanted approval, to have friends, even if it meant being stepped on.

That part can fuck off, and it has been for years. Now its time for her's to fuck off.

So when I decided that I would try to be the one to make it so, I took a deep breath, and let out a tired sigh "...I know that your going through a rough time right now" 'I've been there' was left unsaid "And, to be frank, nothing I'm going to say will make it go away"

Ruby stared at me, her shoulders sagging "...y-yeah, I know…" Her eyes looked to the ground.

It hurts. She doesn't know what to do about herself.

_Why does it hurt? _

Bad memories, but ones I learned from. She'll learn too.

"I know it hurts, it probably didn't feel real at first, but now that you know it is..." I rubbed my forehead for a moment, and then let my hand hang at my side.

Ruby was silently crying, letting the tears drip down her face.

"But…it does get better" I finally said, trying to find a proper way to explain in my head as I spoke "Eventually...you'll move on, look back, and realize 'Ugh, it was so obvious'"

.

.

.

It was silent for a few moments, but then I heard a small giggle, and saw her wipe her face with her sleeve.

Chuckling myself, I continued "There are other people out there, most of them are, well, shitty-"

"Swear…" She muttered.

"_Shitty_" I emphasized in defiance "...and if those people don't want to be around you, why should you be around them? You don't need other's approval, just be yourself" I gestured to myself…

And I smiled at her.

"Worked out for me"

Ruby's eyes were wide, her mouth hanging open at me "..."

Suddenly the embarrassment level rose, I squashed it down as best I could but could only do so much _'Ugh, I can't believe I said all that…' _

_Bzzz!_

Hearing a buzzing sound, I was grateful, Ruby broke out of whatever trance she was in and reached into her skirt pocket, pulling out her phone and opening up its hologram interface.

...yeah, didn't think I'd ever say that last part until a few years yet.

"...Oh, wow, I uh-gotta go apparently" Ruby said awkwardly "I didn't even realize so much time passed by, my sister texted me to say I gotta head home" She slowly put away her phone, setting it in her pocket.

Hearing that, I was kinda relieved, no more awkward talking!

"Alright then…" I rubbed the back of my neck "Um...sorry about earlier at the arcade" I said off handedly, figuring I should apologize again.

"That's fine…uh" She scratched her cheek "Its not the first time that's happened...the manager doesn't like me"

Oh, okay "I see…" I drawled, that wasn't weird at all.

"Yeah…" She awkwardly glanced at me "Thanks for...you know...walking with me after-" She went silent.

I waved it off "Its fine" I said seriously, not wanting to take that lightly "Honestly, after last night with the chasing…" I paused at the memory of nearly dying, but it was then replaced with ones of today "...it was relaxing, I had fun with you, thanks"

I did have fun, sure it wasn't exactly normal or ideal, but…I did enjoy myself. It took me a full second to really realize that.

"O-Oh! I did too!" Ruby shouted excitedly, and then realized her volume and shrunk back a bit "...t-thank you...for taking my mind off it...and…"

She muttered something, I couldn't hear it.

It probably wasn't important, so I made to wave her goodbye-

_Whoosh!_

"W-Wha?" I stumbled backwards at the sudden impact on my chest, and then stood still at the feeling of arms wrapped around me.

I looked down to see black hair with red tips "_Thank you" _She muttered into my shirt _"Thank you for just... being here..." _

"..." Back home I was never a very touchy person, especially with someone I just met...but I make an exception here, and pat her gently on the back. I felt the heat in my cheeks at such an intimate moment "Your welcome" I whispered gently, meaning it.

And just as fast as it started, in a flash of red, she had disappeared, but not before I caught a glimpse of her red face "B-BYE!"

_Whoosh!_

And a fleet of rose petals slowly fell to the ground from where she once stood, I was left alone again.

.

.

.

"Phew…" I let out a relieved breath, leaning against a nearby fence "That was exhausting…"

It truly was, I'm mentally exhausted. Everything was just one rollercoaster after another.

But...even with everything that was going on, I think I genuinely helped her.

I really hoped I did, having your heart torn out like that over a friendship that was never actually real isn't something I'd wish on even my worst enemy.

It sounds contradictory, but replace 'never actually real' with 'a lie' and suddenly it makes more sense.

Pushing myself off the fence, I started walking again. Going over everything that happened today in my head…

A lot of bad memories popped up, ones that I hadn't thought about in years. When I was young, I had thought that friendship was this amazing thing, and that anyone could have it.

Boy did I learn how wrong that can be when I nearly got thrown off a bridge when I was eleven…

And that wasn't counting the bullying, name-calling, and even some racism on my German heritage.

But I'm not gonna get into that, because, quite frankly, I got over it a long time ago.

I gave up on looking for friendship, because my trust was betrayed one too many times for me to give a fuck at that point. And for a while, that made me feel hollow, like I was the problem, that it was something _I _was doing.

.

.

.

To make a long story short, I moved on. And hopefully, Ruby will too, without having to go through as much as I did.

That being said, I doubt I'll ever see her again.

'_...but it does still feel good' _I let a small smile come to my face _'Ruby Rose, huh? I hope you get over it soon-' _

"Wait" I stopped, and looked around the unfamiliar area, feeling an uncomfortable feeling settling in my chest "...where was the library again?"

* * *

_**Omake: Mending**_

¨I´m home¨ Ruby walked into the house and announced herself quietly, closing the door behind her and walked towards the couch...and then promptly flopped on it ¨...¨

She stared at the texture of the couch cushins, her face scrunched up.

_´...I thought we were friends´_

Ruby turned herself over and stared at the ceiling, she brought out her scroll…

She swiped through pictures, of all of them: Cecil, Saphy, and Jade...all of them smiling, just goofing around.

Yet, in some of them, Ruby began to notice how...distant she actually was from them, even from just looking at a photo with some of them standing farther away, or the ones where they were happier when with Yang in the photo, and Ruby was in the back...

¨Why…?¨ She felt horrible when she thought back on it, her heart pierced with sadness and self-doubt every time she did.

_´We were friends...no, we never were...why? All just to get to Yang´ _She shut her eyes tightly _´I should have known better! Nobody wants to hang out with me! Yang´s the popular and outgoing one!´_

Ruby refused to cry, not like before…

But without anymore distractions, her thoughts always went back to what happened in the park. It hurt, and it made her painfully go over everything in her head to answer the question of what she was doing wrong.

_´Who would want to hang out with me-´_

_¨Did you ever take advantage of them?¨_

Her mouth was left hanging open from those words…

No.

_¨Did you ever once make them feel like they weren´t worth your time?¨_

_No_.

_¨They´re the problem, not you¨_

She found comfort in those words, they made sense. What did she do? She was friendly and helped them all the time, but in the end _they_ were the ones who used her.

Friends don´t do that, so they must have never been friends, _real _friends.

Not like…

_A brown haired teenager with dark eyes held out a ice-cream sandwich to her ¨Here, I have a spare"_

_Ruby and the boy both laughed on the sidewalk after seeing the manager slip ¨Yeah, that was hilarious¨ He chuckled._

Ruby´s lips curled slightly upwards…

A _real _friend.

When she looked back on the rest of the day with the boy, she couldn´t help but smile.

The genuine curiosity he had, the social awkwardess when they were both at an impasse on what to do, explaining to her about ´chemistry´ and listening to her talking about weapons and actually looking interested while asking questions about it.

But why he did it...

_¨I know what its like to deal with something like that¨_

It was so...genuine. The way he said it, you couldn´t fake it. How his eyes looked to be off in the distance for a moment before coming back to reality, as if he was looking back at a painful memory.

People say she wasn´t perceptive, but she saw more than what they would expect.

And what's more, unlike her frie-_classmates_, he didn´t know Yang.

He wasn´t even a huntsmen-in-training, he didn´t go to Signal, so he didn´t even know Yang much less want to get to Yang through her.

Perhaps it was wrong of Ruby, but she couldn´t help but...find some reason, look them over, wonder if he was like them. But she could find none, and whenever she tried to talk herself into it, she remembered his kindness.

How even when he looked unsure of what to do or say, he tried anyway. That when she thought of something bad, he tried to take her mind off it with something else.

¨What´s got you all smiley?¨

Ruby blinked, and looked up to meet the lilac colored eyes of her older sister looking down on her from over the armchair, long blonde hair hanging over her face- ¨Ah! Yang! Your hair!¨ She swiped it away from her.

The older sister laughed ¨Well? Did you girls have fun or something? Must have been a great time¨ She walked away and over to the table to take her bottled water, just missing Ruby´s frown.

"...yeah…" Ruby said quietly, to the point where Yang likely didn't hear it.

She wasn't okay, it still hurt knowing what happened, that all those times they spent together was nothing but a ruse to use her.

But then she would remember why she was smiling, how she spent hours walking around with some boy who decided to help her, and had more fun than she ever did with her old group.

He was different from them, someone who actually, genuinely, cared about her. And for no other reason than because he had gone through something similar.

Ruby was sure about one thing, she wouldn't let that be the last time she would see him.

¨Actually...¨ She smiled again, looking over at Yang ¨I met someone who was really cool"

_´Drake Joseph, huh?´ _She giggled softly _´Still a weird name!´_

* * *

_**Captaindrake123: This chapter was a bit different, instead of just going through things mostly through Drake's head, he was interacting with another character for most of it. You get to see how he fairs with interaction, and learned a bit about him.**_

_**I felt that for this chapter, the tone needed to be brought down a bit to a more casual setting. While there is traces of drama, it is not nearly as high as the last two chapters. Don't worry though, there will still be plenty of it later on. **_

_**Constructive criticism is always welcome. **_


	4. Chapter 4 Adapting

_**Chapter 4: Adapting **_

Taking in a deep breath, I sighed as I leaned back in my chair away from the holo-screen in the local library.

I managed to find it again-after looking around aimlessly for thirty minutes trying to retrace my steps- and the moment I came in I headed straight for the computer and looked through it for _hours. _

I couldn´t help but take a moment to process all the information I took in, all of the things I just learned from simple searches on their internet, its called a CCT network.

¨Okay...okay...¨ I take another deep breath, I think the fact that I'm on another planet hit me harder this time.

Putting a hand on my forehead, I set my elbow down on the table, just staring at the pattern of the wood as if it would tell me something.

My eyes wandered over to where I set my phone.

¨...¨ I picked it up, put in its password, and searched through the apps for something I felt would help.

It took a minute, but I found it, an app I hadn't used...

_Voice memos. _

¨Excuse me sir¨ I looked up sluggishly at the librarian with pink hair tied into a bun, she held a book in her hands as she looked at me ¨We´re almost at closing time¨

I took a moment to process what she said ¨Oh...okay, I was just about done anyway¨ I responded as I slowly got out of my chair, slinging my backpack on.

¨...are you okay sir?¨ The librarian asked in concern, I glanced at her, and read her name tag.

_Violet. _

It only reminds me of how the only names I´ve heard today are all color related ¨...yeah¨ I said slowly, starting to move away, but stopped and looked at her ¨Thanks for the concern, but I´ll be fine¨ I told her.

¨Alright then...¨ She sounded hesitant to leave it at that, it must be really evident how shaken I am. Gotta reign that in...somehow.

So I walked out of the library, walking through the mostly empty streets.

I brought my phone near my mouth, and turned on _Voice memo. _

¨_Captain´s log-_No...¨ I grumbled, turning it off, and deleted the voice file ¨...¨ I turned it on again _¨Earthling´s log-_no¨ I stopped again, and deleted it.

.

.

.

I brought it to my mouth again, and pressed play ¨_Explorer´s log¨ _There we go, that sounded better _¨Date¨ _I forced myself not to say 'stardate' ¨_...August 14th; 2017; 10:01 p.m¨ _

Taking a moment, I breathed in, and released _¨I decided to record this in light of my strange...predicament¨ _That was underselling it by a longshot _¨Considering this might be the greatest moment in human space exploration since the moon landing, recording my experiences here would be helpful...and it also gives me a chance to collect my thoughts¨ _

Walking through the sidewalk, see the broken tower in the distance, and continued _¨What I´m about to say is gonna sound crazy... but, I´m on another planet¨ _

I walked on, seeing the park in the distance.

_¨I´m not sure how, or why, I was just getting my stuff ready to go camping and then…¨ _A blank, and then a flash of light _¨A flash of bright light, and I was dropped into some sort of warehouse filled with terrorists¨ _

I see the park sign as I walked closer, the cut on my leg pulsed a bit, but I ignored it.

_¨But the stranger thing was, they weren´t human¨ _I continued _¨I mean-they looked human, at first glance, but if you take a closer look, they had extra appendages, like cat ears or deer antlers...their called faunus¨_

_¨I managed to escape after a chase through town and dropping a water tower on one of their big guys, long story short, he had a chainsaw and I goaded him into cutting the support of the tower, and it fell on top of him" _I explained, somehow it felt carthric...just talking about it aloud, hearing myself say the words, disbelieving yet _knowing _that they were true.

Walking past the sign, I entered the park _¨I ran away before the police could see me-yes, they have police here-and I saw that they looked human, no animal appendages...I wasn´t sure what they were at the time, the faunus, and it was only after I escaped and went to a park that I found out that I wasn´t on Earth anymore¨_

I stopped at the bench, and looked up to see it getting dark...and the moon was coming up, a gentle blue light radiating off it...

_¨I saw that the moon was...shattered, that's the best way I can describe it...it was broken up into pieces, still in orbit¨ _I looked up at said moon _¨I admittedly had a mental breakdown, and just...screamed, I was so confused on what was happening, and after being shot at not even ten minutes before, I just...couldn´t take the absurdity anymore¨ _

It felt like I was talking about someone else, but I knew clearly that it was me who went through all that.

But...maybe its because it doesn´t _feel_ real-no, that it _shouldn't _be real.

Part of me is still catching up, you don´t just get sent to another planet...its not...this situation...it is just so unlikely, and downright impossible that it is hard to believe, even when the evidence is staring at me right in the face.

Even when I'm hearing, smelling, seeing, tasting, and feeling that evidence I can't fully bring myself to accept this. Because it doesn't make any fucking sense.

But reality is reality, and I don't make a hissy fit every time I don't understand it.

Swallowing my frustration, I continued _¨Afterwards I fell asleep on a park bench¨ _I sat down on said bench, setting my backpack down by me _¨When I had woke up, I was processing what happened to me, and trying to figure out what to do next, such as finding a job and a place to live¨ _

I paused at what I was about to say next _¨And then I met someone, a local¨ _I thought for a moment on how much I should say _¨Her name is Ruby Rose, I won´t go into details for privacy reasons, but suffice to say she was going through a rough time and I helped her out, she ended up showing me around town¨ _

_¨The place I´m in is an island called Patch, on a planet called Remnant¨ _I said, I glanced around for a moment in a sudden spike of paranoia, no one was here _¨And...they are so similar to us, that I often got caught up in it and acted like it was just a regular day. They have buildings, advertisements, everything was so..._human_, yet they weren´t- at least, not completely like us¨ _

_¨There are differences, the faunus being a major one of them, they are a second sentient race among the humans of Remnant with-anime fans will go crazy with this- animal ears, they are often mistreated...kinda like African Americans fifty years back in the United States, and apparently the terrorists that attacked me are part of an organization called the ´White Fang´, who strive to use force to make humans respect them as equals or superiors, I'm not sure which one, but I'm leaning towards the ladder¨ _

I paused for a moment, unsure of what to say next, and then decided to go with everything I learned in the library "_Most of the information I have I got from a local library-and I'm not even gonna get into the fact that they speak English and have it as a written language, there's so much to cover as it is so I'm just gonna put a pin on it...until I can find a reasonable explanation for why, which probably won't be any time soon" _

Considering all that's happened, that question is on the _very _low priority section of the list.

I took a breath, as this was gonna be a bit long winded "_This is the planet Remnant, it has twenty-four hours in a day, twelve months in a year, and one shattered moon in orbit...so its very similar to Earth" _

"_Humans and faunus have lived here for as long as they can remember, pre-recorded history dating back ten thousand years-although much has been lost in that time, they apparently didn't document it as well as we did ours for various reasons" _

And it went on like that, I spoke into my phone, going over everything I had learned: Remnant, humans, faunus, dust, etc.

Dust was an important one, I had learned a bit more about it, and it was...baffling

"_Dust is this planet's natural resource, and its...I dunno how to describe it, magic?" _I snorted _"Well, I'm not sure what it is, and apparently neither does the planet's inhabitance...what kind of people don't know how their own power source works? All of the different types of dust are of an element like in Greek mythology or fantasy: Earth, water, fire, wind, and all that...then apparently there is stuff like "Gravity dust" and such, there are hundreds of types, and they use them all for everyday life, from the concrete, to powering their homes" _

I had looked up so much information in the library, and what would have been common sense for someone around here, it was a treasure trove of knowledge for me. It was so...fascinating. A whole new world, a whole different history, people, technology, and culture.

My inner childhood was tap-dancing in glee, but the logical part of me is wary. Luckily there doesn't seem to be any crazy laws or cultural differences that will get me killed...from what I've read so far anyway.

Sighing again, I decided to finish this voice log that was already too long.

"_...I dunno why or how I got here...I'm lost on some strange planet that seems so similar yet so different to my own...but…" _

My back stood straighter, I kept the phone right in front of my face as I stared up at the shattered moon.

Something inside me refused this reality, the downright impossibility of just going home.

"_I'm not just gonna lay down and accept this, I have a home, a family, a life…" _

_Mom, Dad, my brother and sisters, my pets, my house, my __**home…**__._

I glared at the sky, at whatever ripped me from my world and brought me here, my voice grew more steady and powerful with each word.

Standing up, I continued to glare at the moon _"I promise this to myself" _I took a deep breath, and shouted to the heavens.

"_If there's a way here! There's a way back! I'll find my way back home no matter what!" _

End log.

* * *

Sadly the small part of me that was still hopeful that this was all a dream was utterly crushed and shit-stomped on once again when I woke up on a bench in the park for the second time in a row.

It occured to me once again that I _really _need a place to live, but first, I need to get a job.

And since I slept two nights in a row on a bench in the park, I don't exactly look my best.

"Ugh…" I groaned as I walked over to the public bathroom in the park, cracking my back, it was killing me.

'_That's what I get for sleeping on the bench, why the fuck didn't I just go to a hotel!?' _I thought to myself _'...because I have no idea if they would take me' _I reminded myself bitterly.

In the United States, people who are under eighteen are usually unable to book a room at a hotel, and I might need an I.D.

While I doubt that all hotels check for I.D. , I'm not entirely sure if I could pass for eighteen. I'm five-foot-eleven, so I could make it height wise, but anything else?

I couldn't be sure, but I might just test it out later to see if I can get in one because my back is protesting to the labour I'm putting it through.

The worst that could happen is that I get kicked out, and I have to sleep on the bench again. Not much to lose.

So yeah, I'll check that out later. But first, I need to wash up.

Walking inside the public restroom, I went to the sink and turned on the cold water, splashing it on my face.

Looking in the mirror I could see how greasy my brown hair is along with the bedhead, my hazel eyes narrowed back at me in the mirror, making it look like their colour changed to a dark brown.

"...ugh" I groaned as I got to work, dipping my hands in water and soap, and combing it through my greasy hair.

Nobody is gonna take an employee who looks unclean and irresponsible, so I need to at least look the part and clean myself up.

It feels a bit degrading doing this at a sink, but I'm not so spoiled that I don't see what I need to do it. Pride can take a backseat for now, and logic take the wheel, with humility in the passenger seat.

Holding my head down to the sink, I splashed water on my head, shivering a bit for a moment at the cold water before adjusting it to be warmer _'What was that place called? Patch Delight? Yeah, they are hiring' _

Lowering my backpack to the ground, I opened it up for some new clothes, my current attire is sweaty and dirty, with a hint of blood, not exactly desirable for a working environment.

Taking off my shirt, I paused as I looked at my arms. They were covered in scratches and bruises…

My eyes drifted to the mirror, staring back at myself with a few cuts and small bruises on my torso near my abs-probably from when I slammed into that building and tripped over a ledge. I looked like a tough delinquent.

"..." I glared at it for a moment, my arms was where I took the most hits from. I don't think they need any treatment, none of them were bleeding.

I checked my leg to get a look at its wound. It seemed to be healing well, thankfully not infected.

"Should probably wear a long sleeve, cover the scratches on my arms…" My jacket is a bit dusty, so I should probably wear something else.

Holding up said jacket, I looked it over carefully. It was mainly black, white stripes along the zipper line and down the sleeves, the inner collar was orange, and it had an orange starfleet command insignia on the left side.

"...what would they do?" I questioned myself quietly, staring at the symbol as if expecting it to answer.

I know its stupid to think about a TV series on how to survive, but lets be honest, I got nothing else to turn to.

...and I idolized those shows. I watched Star Trek since I was eight, and right now I certainly feel like I'm in an episode of one of those shows.

What would a starfleet officer do?

"_There is always another way, we just have to find it" _

If there's a way here, there's a way back. I have the mindset of a scientist, whatever happened, a natural or artificial phenomenon, there may be a possibility of reversing it.

How to do so, I have no idea. But after I get myself situated with a place to sleep and food on the table, I won't let it stay that way.

I will figure this out, one way or another. It might not be today, or tomorrow, or even next year, but I will.

So with that thought steeling my resolve, I pulled out a new set of clothes and put my jacket in my backpack, and then proceeded to wipe my armpits with the soap before drying and changing…

* * *

Walking out of the public restroom, I wiped off my hair a bit more with a big batch of paper towels, my backpack hanging by my shoulders as I wore a blue long sleeved shirt and a pair of black sweatpants.

"Alright" I tossed the paper towels in a nearby garbage bin "Time to get a job"

I'm not new to working, I have worked part time before at a tree planting job. I mostly did yard work and...well...tree planting. But it wasn't a permanent position, and it didn't last long. Then I worked at a restaurant that paid well for a while, until I stopped getting hours. The owner of the restaurant apparently thought I had offended her somehow, even though I had barely ever spoken to her and always greeted her courteously…

So I do have experience in working in a food establishment, but I can't exactly give a reference to them...so I'll have to hope they won't need one.

After letting my hair dry for a bit longer, I headed out of the park. Its around 11:00 a.m if I'm not mistaken, so most restaurants are likely open by now.

I looked ahead as I walked down the sidewalks "There it is" I spotted it nearby, the sign above the entrance saying 'Patch Delight'.

"_Help Wanted!"_

The poster is still there, good.

I stopped in front of the door, looking through the window to see not a lot of people was there, perfect opportunity to ask about the job position _'Alright Drake…gonna try to get a job in another world...yeah' _I took a deep breath, released, and then pushed the door to head inside.

"Hello sir, how can I help you?"

I was immediately greeted by a girl with green hair and blue eyes at the register who looked around my age, her tied up in a chinese bun and a greeting smile for the customers plastered on her face. My eyes briefly glanced to her name tag attached to her uniform.

'_Olive, huh? Another color name, maybe I should look it up later...'_

"Um, I saw the sign outside that you have a job opening" I pointed out to said door "I'm here to see about getting a job"

Her eyes visibly widened, and then she gave a smile as if she got a nice surprise "Really? That's great! I'll go get the manager" She then moved away and through the door to the back of the restaurant.

'_That...was a bit weird' _I thought to myself as I stared at where the girl was before, it was a bit strange how happy she looked that someone came to take the job.

'_Are they understaffed?' _My eyes roamed the place to find something to confirm it. The restaurant, while it wasn't small, was definitely not the largest either, I'd say it could hold up to forty-fifty people at maximum.

'_Now that I think about it, it did take a while for me and Ruby to get our food yesterday…' _

"-omeone wants a job?" I immediately snapped my attention to the door opening, and coming out was the same woman and an older man in his thirties with slick red hair and green eyes, I saw the manager tag on the upper left side of his uniform.

'_Is everyone here so... colorful?' _I found myself thinking, remembering the people I've seen so far.

"Yep! Here he is…" The girl looked to me as she gestured to the older man "This is our manager, he's the one you wanna talk to"

Said older man looked me up and down for a quick moment with an analytical gaze, but then put out his hand "Jett Auburn" He introduced himself.

'_Another color name' _I noted as I returned the handshake "Drake Joseph, nice to meet you" I greeted back with a quick smile.

"So you want a job here?" I opened my mouth-"Don't answer that, just come sit with me in the booth"

I blinked slowly at his apparent bluntness, but numbly followed him _'Okay…' _

The manager sat down and set his arms on the table, I sat on the opposite end of him.

"Alright, here's the deal" He spoke seriously and quickly "I'm gonna ask you some questions, you answer them, and at the end of it I'll decide if your hired"

"...I understand" I said after a moment _'This guy doesn't fuck around' _This was definitely different from how my other interviews went, usually I'd have to send in an application or something first…

"Alright then" He clapped to himself "First question: Why do you want the job?"

I took a moment to consider how to answer this "...well, I came to Patch recently, and I need money to help pay for food and expenses"

He looked confused, raising an eyebrow "No parents?"

"No, they didn't come with me" I said simply, but the mention of my parents did bring up a question. _'How are they?' _I thought to myself _'Are they worried? Are they looking for me right now?' _

'_Stop it!' _I told myself sternly, thinking about that right now isn't helping at all. I'll worry about that when its _not _the most inconvenient time to worry.

"...I won't ask" He said, sounding impatient as he rubbed his nose "Second question: Do you have any experience in the food industry?"

This one I was ready for "Yes, I worked in a fast food joint, doing cleaning, cooking, manning the register, and other sorts of things, but I've never been a waiter"

"Hmm...alright" He hummed, seeming to take it into consideration "Last question: When are you available"

"Pretty much any time" I answered easily. Not having school or anything, I am pretty much available for whatever hours he would need me for.

The manager looked at me curiously, somewhat surprised "Any time? No school?"

"I was homeschooled" This was a good excuse for not registering into any schools and being free for whatever work hours to take.

"I see...alright then, your hired"

.

.

.

'_Eh?' _

"I'm hired?" I questioned, a little dumbfounded.

"Yes, your hired" He puts out his hand "Nice to meet you Drake, welcome to Patch Delight, we can go over later about how you will be paid after I get out the needed paperwork"

I blinked slowly, then shook his hand. I know he was gonna decide if I was gonna be hired after the questions but...I thought he was gonna say 'Come back tomorrow, and I'll tell you if your hired' or something.

That seemed way too easy.

"Yeah, your probably a bit confused" The manager sighed "Normally I would take a bit more time to interview someone, ask for some references to call and make sure you really do have experience, but to be honest, we need more employees"

'_So they do have a shortage' _I glanced back out to the other tables _'That makes it a bit easier for me, but then again, that means it will probably be difficult to work here with it being short of hands' _

"Not a lot of people in this part of Patch work in the food industry, a fourth of the population is that of retired huntsmen, and their kids don't exactly see being a waiter as a 'glorious' job, rather focus on their 'training'" He chuckled at some inside joke I wasn't let in on.

But if I had to guess, a huntsmen is supposed to be a defender of humanity. From what I've read, the job of a huntsmen is very glorified, told as people who are legends and heroes.

I literally cringed back when I read the propaganda.

Having the job of a waiter doesn't sound nearly as exciting, and kids being kids, just scoff at it as 'beneath' them.

"Oh" The mananger spoke up again, as if remembering something "Well, this isn't necessary, but I'd figured I'd ask: Do you know how to fight?"

'_...huh?' _Now this one threw me for a loop, I never would have expected that question "Why do you ask?"

He shrugged "Its not something that happens often, but sometimes the Signal customers can be...rowdy, they're kids, and sometimes they'll start fights, so it would be nice to have someone else on hand who could throw them out so to speak" He pointed behind him towards the desk.

I followed the line of sight he pointed at, and saw the green haired girl from earlier "Take Olive for example, she's one of the few people from Signal who didn't mind working here, and she knows how to fight well so she can kick some hooligans out if it gets out of hand"

That...makes sense. Give a bunch of hormonial and stupid teenagers a bunch of power and expect it to never get out of hand? Yeah, when pigs start flying I _might _believe you, with 'might' being the keyword.

"So" He continued "Do you know how to fight?"

'_Do I know how to fight?' _I suppose that's a good question.

Most of what I learned was self-taught, except for when I learned karate when I was younger, but that was only for a year.

Everything else came about because I felt that I needed to learn how to, or at least be prepared to fight if someone decided to pick one with me...and of course, they did.

Through online searching, practice and, in some cases, experimentation, I learned how to hit someone's weak spots, put them in various joint locks, dodge quickly, and throw good punches at just the right spot to take someone down.

I also learned about pressure points in the human body, and it was part of the reason I learned how to knock out that White Fang back at the warehouse from his collarbone. I never actually expected to use it practically, it was just something I looked up because it was like the Vulcan nerve pinch.

A lot of self-defense techniques came into play too, like how to disarm someone, or escape from a chokehold, and other such things. I didn't fuck around with that sort of stuff, I learned that because my neighborhood, while not crime infested or anything, wasn't always the most friendly.

Hell, one time some kids tried to gang up on me in the school. I beat the _shit _out of those kids, smashed open lockers into their faces and everything-

Oh, yeah, I also threw away the idea of fighting 'fair'.

But does all that make me a good fighter? I'd like to think so, but considering now that I'm in a place where teenagers can have superpowers... I shouldn't be cocky.

The manager seemed to wait a little impatiently as I considered all this in my head.

"...I've never been fully formally trained" I finally answered "But I do know how to hold my own, I'm not a stranger to some guys picking a fight, so I'd say I'm a pretty good fighter, but you might want to rely on your other co-worker for the tougher guys"

That seemed like the most honest answer I could give, even back home I was fairly certain that people with more formal training could give me a run for my money. I don't think I'm weak, definitely not, but its not like I'm the toughest guy around either.

While I did do well against the White Fang, from what I've read they are mostly filled with civillians with basic training at _best_. And if I had faced that chainsaw guy head on I would have died easily, no question.

The manager stared at me "Huh, an honest answer…" He smiled "I like you already" He turned his head over towards the counter "Olive! Help get this man a uniform and show him the ropes! I got some paperwork to fill out!"

The girl gave a salute "Yes sir!"

He narrowed his eyes at her "And stop acting like we're the Atlesian military or I'll cut your pay" She immediately dropped her hand.

And so I started my job at Patch Delight.

* * *

I do not have good experiences with on-the-job training.

My last job there was rarely any time to actually help me memorize what I needed to, and I just sort of followed along and tried my best with minimal help from the rest of my co-workers.

Did I blame them? No, I blamed how unorganized the whole system was.

But it seems like this time around it was better, Olive was pretty good at explaining things to me and how everything worked around here, where it all was, and what I would be doing, and how I can clock in and out.

It was a breath of fresh air...until the customers started really rolling in.

It was exhausting, because of how short-handed this place actually is. There was a lot to do, and a lot to still figure out.

There were no rowdy customers-well, not rowdy to the point of it turning into a fight-but it was very tiring, just one job to the next in quick succession.

"Drake, over here!"

"Dishes Drake!"

"Customer over there Drake!"

By the time my shift was over, I sat down in a booth after clocking out, letting out a huge sigh of relief from all the standing and walking for six hours straight.

_'I...finally understand, mother, father...' _They told me that being a waiter was a very tiring job, and I believed them.

But holy _shit _I didn't think it was this bad. Perhaps I'm overexaggerating but people are fucking horrible. Constantly trying to contradict themselves on their orders, leaving the littlest tips...

I did my best, kept smiling, and said 'Yes sir/mam!' and 'I'll have your order soon sir/mam!', all while my head was giving me a damn migraine from that stupid sudden knowledge thing that keeps popping up randomly.

I'm just glad its over.

"Good job today!" I barely turned my head to see that Olive had taken the seat across from me "You did pretty well for your first day, should've seen me...hehe..." She chuckled at something I had no idea of.

"Anyway, thanks for the help, you did well today and I look forward to working with you" She put out her hand.

_'Great, more social interaction' _I thought sarcastically, but I did gratefully shake her hand, I appreciated the time and effort she took to show me the ropes "Its nice to meet you too, I'll do my best"

"Good!" She said cheerfully, standing up "My shift is over too, so I'm heading home"

_'...home, huh?' _That must be nice.

"Thanks for the help" I said as I stood up as well "I gotta go pick up my schedule and head home as well" I felt a pang in my heart as I said that, knowing that won't be for a while yet.

But I'll get there, I have to believe that.

* * *

_'Ow...' _I thought in annoyance at the pain in my legs as I walked down the sidewalk.

Apparently walking and standing for six hours straight when your legs were still sore and recovering from the last time you pushed them to the max is a bad idea.

It wasn't excruciating, but it certainly wasn't pleasant either.

"-did you hear about what happened on the train?" I heard some people talk as I walked by them "The White Fang stole another shipment from the Schnee Dust Company-"

My head was immediately bombarded with a headache _'The Schnee Dust Company: The World's leading industry on all Dust, run by the Schnee family passed down from generation to generation' _

_'Would you fucking __**NOT**__!?' _I held my hand against my right temple, the sudden knowledge popping up and giving me a damn migraine.

Its been going non-stop all day, ever since I started serving people over at Patch Delight it goes off when there's someone who says some piece of information about this world I don't know about.

It made it even more difficult on top of the fact that I was already having trouble with the workload, and the more it activated the more I started to get headaches.

_'Fuck, my head hurts...my legs hurt...this sucks' _ I sighed, I glanced around the buildings trying to spot a hotel or something, but I can't seem to find anything.

_'Damn it, if only I could buy a map or something, but I have no idea where I would get them, I might have to ask around-wait' _I paused for a moment.

What if I just...tried to get that information from that...what do I call it?

Remnant Knowledge. Its as fitting as a name as I'll get _'What if I just used the Remnant Knowledge to find a hotel or something?' _

Can I actually do that? To just _will _it to give me specific information?

I never thought about it, but then again, I was never sure what the hell it was, and still don't _'Its kind've a long shot, but I don't see why I can't try' _

I move into an alleyway, away from prying eyes, and proceed to lay back against a wall "Okay...how to do this..." I muttered to myself.

_'I...need to find a hotel, where can I find one?' _I tried to simply ask it mentally, see if anything would come up.

.

.

.

That didn't work.

_'Maybe...something less specific?' _

I squinted, trying to force it _'Hotel! Hotel!' _

.

.

.

Nothing.

"Ugh..." I groaned in frustration "Maybe I need to say something aloud?" I muttered to myself, looking around to make sure no one hears me.

There were a few people walking by, and waited until they were a good distance away before speaking in a normal voice "I need to find a hotel" I said out loud.

.

.

.

Still nothing.

_'Oh my-can anything go my fucking way!?' _I was close to punching the wall in frustration, feeling stupid doing all of this, but I take a deep breath through my nose and out the mouth to calm myself _'Calm down, you knew it was a long shot...' _

I sighed tiredly...then an idea came to mind _'Wait, what if I'm...going about it wrong? I'm using thoughts and ideas to try to get it to work...but what if it works by feelings?' _

Not necessarily emotions, but...like how it felt when the Remnant Knowledge did its work, the feeling of already _knowing _what something was.

_'...this is the last time I'll try for now, this is a big "if" anyway, its not like I understand what the fuck it is in the first place' _

And I wasn't even entirely sure how to go about replicating that 'feeling'. Remembering it?

Having nothing to lose, I took a slow, calming, breath as I closed my eyes.

_'Remember that feeling...' _I tried to think back to when I first felt it, in front of that ice-cream vendor, telling me what that girl liked.

_Sudden..._

It was frightening at first, how it came out of nowhere...yet...

_Natural..._

It didn't feel wrong either, it was invasive, yes, but it didn't feel forced...

_Always there..._

I felt like it was always there, that I had it for years, as if I learned the same things these people did, lived and learned the same things they did...

_Never there..._

But I didn't, I know I didn't learn these things, yet there it is, it didn't make sense, it didn't come from anything I did, it was...

_**Knowledge**__. _

Something is happening, I can feel it.

I think its working!

I have to hold onto this feeling, but I'm not sure what to do with it, its like some sort of...connection, to something else, but I'm not sure what.

Search for it? Do I just search for the information? Ask it?

_'...I need to find a hotel, on Patch' _I thought to myself, focusing on that thought and the connection-

_Pain._

"AH!"

I held my head _'Fuck! Fuck it hurts!' _My vision felt blurry, my head is hurting...twice over? My senses are all over the place, I can't understand anything! _It hurts!_

My brain feels like its fucking _melting_! _Why does it hurt!?_ I don't know where I am! I can't feel anything but the pain in my head!_ Make it stop!_

Stop!

_**STOP! **_

And just as suddenly as it came, it went away.

I slumped against the wall, the pain was finally gone "Ha...ha..." I breathed slowly in shock, still holding my head, my vision was blurry but it was quickly clearing up...

"Holy shit..." My ears are ringing, I can't smell, my skin feels tingly...

It was all starting to calm down though, going back to normal...

.

.

.

I took a deep breath as all my senses settled, I noticed that my heart was racing-how did I not notice that?

_'Holy shit that was horrible...and it left behind an even bigger headache than before' _I suppressed a groan, gritting my teeth as I rubbed my temples in a vain effort to sooth it.

My brain felt like it was on fucking fire, I never want to feel that again...

_'I had no idea it was gonna do _that_, holy shit what even happened? I'm never doing that again, I didn't even get information on where to find a hotel __that is down the street, to the left, then a right, and has as big sing saying "IVORY HOTEL" in the front'_

Not only was it painful, it was a huge waste of time-

"Wait, what?" I questioned quietly, stopping to process the information that I know I never learned _'Ivory...hotel?' _

_._

_._

_._

Pushing my self off the wall, I walked out of the alleyway and followed the directions I got, walking down the street, to the left, and then a made a right...

"A big sign that says 'Ivory Hotel'..." I muttered, looking up at said sign across the street.

* * *

It was easier to get a hotel room than I thought it would be, and that would be because Remnant's social security is essentially shit.

Okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but its still not good.

Essentially, there is a problem with the fact that not everyone has been documented since birth, being from outside the Kingdoms born in villages or from the Kingdom of Vacuo-which is basically a lawless wasteland, yet ironically is said to be more peaceful than other Kingdoms.

And since it would cause huge problems to just refuse anyone who didn't have that paperwork because of something that was not their fault, it leaves a bit of a hole in the legal system.

And I abused the shit out of it, naturally.

Now, you can sign up for some identification papers, and I will need that if I'm planning to do anything long-term in the Kingdoms, so I'll have to see about visiting this place's equivalent of a state office soon.

"Here you go sir" The lady at the counter handed me a key chain with the room number on it "Everything is in order, and I hope you enjoy your stay here at Ivory Hotel"

"Thank you" I said in response, and went on my way to find my room, adjusting the straps of my backpack, it felt a little heavier with the work uniform put in there.

It wasn't a big hotel, so I didn't have to walk to far "Room fourty-three...there" I spotted the door with the number plaqued on it, and proceeded to walk over and unlock the door.

The room was nice, but simple: One bed, a TV, a desk, and a bathroom.

But I found myself mostly focusing on the bed as I closed the door behind me.

"..." I tossed my backpack to the ground and flopped onto it "Ohhh...I will never take you for granted ever again" I mumbled into the _oh so comfortable _bed sheets.

I rolled my body over, and I immediately felt the tension leave my back "My back agrees" I chuckled a little at my own joke.

I finally have a proper place to sleep on this world.

_'Well...I still need to find an apartment to live in' _I think to myself, my new job is paid weekly, my paycheck given to me on a Sunday, so by the time I'm done here, along with any tips I might get, I should have enough money to rent an apartment.

I should have enough money for food if I spend it wisely, and I could eat any extras in the kitchen at Patch Delight if it comes to it.

If I do it right, I can get by smoothly and quietly until I find an apartment.

"...my universe I am tired" I sighed, rubbing my face, glancing out from my fingers to see a washing machine in the corner.

_'I really don't wanna get up...but I should really wash my clothes...and take a shower' _

But I really didn't want to get up at the moment, and so I stared at the ceiling for a bit, pondering a question that I've been thinking about since I learned about the hotel from the Remnant Knowledge.

I was able to use it for that...could I...?

_'...why am I going through this?' _

.

.

.

"...heh, nothing huh?" I questioned, the Remnant Knowledge not responding at all "Maybe I should try it again..."

I really don't want to go through that utter confusion and pain a second time, but if I could get some fucking idea of why I'm here from it...

I closed my eyes.

I remembered the feeling of knowing.

The connection was fainter this time, but its still there...I swallowed nervously, expecting pain, but asked away anyway.

_'Why am I on Remnant?' _

.

.

.

_**Nothing**__**. **_

There was nothing. No pain, no answers, _nothing. _

"...Why am I on Remnant?" I asked aloud this time, frustrated.

_**Nothing**_. I'm still holding onto the feeling, but nothing.

I grinded my teeth in frustration, feeling angry and my fists clenching around the sheets of the bed "How do I get back home?!"

_**Nothing**_.

Not even a hint, its as if it didn't know itself.

But that thought makes me even angrier _'How could you possibly not know!? Aren't you the reason I'm here!?' _Its the only thing that makes sense, I show up on this planet, and this thing in my head telling me how things work around here.

The connection was slipping, it was as if it was more guarded.

I sat up straight "No! Your giving me fucking answers _damn it!" _I shouted, willing it to come back, wrapping my mind around that connection "ANSWER ME!"

I feel a sudden migraine coming on, I shook my head, it was slipping...!

_Bam! Bam! _"Hey! Keep it down in there!" Someone shouted outside my door.

It was gone.

"Ugh...!" I let my head hit the pillow, my vision was a little blurry "Damn it..." My head felt horrible.

But I waited, seeing if I gained something from that...

.

.

.

_**Nothing. **_

I didn't get anything except for a bigger headache.

* * *

**_Captaindrake123: I hope you all had a great 4th of July, mine was pretty good all things considered, just lit off some home fireworks with my family. _**_**I planned to have this done on the fourth actually, but...y'know, life, work, that stuff. **_

**_But anyway, Drake now has a job and a place to sleep (that isn't a bench), and he's learned that he can actually force some information out of that mysterious force in his head, but not without getting himself into a lot of pain. Poor guy, he just wants answers... _**

**_I'm glad that most of you seem to be enjoying this story so far, stay tuned for the next chapter!._**

**_But in the meantime..._**

* * *

**_Omake: Alien Hunting_**

Ruby Rose walked through the streets aimlessly, glancing around the area "...no..." She muttered to herself quietly, not finding what she was looking for.

It had been a few days since the...'incident' as she called it, and Ruby realized that she never got Drake's scroll number, thus making her promise to herself to see him again sound hollow.

_'Ugh, where is he?' _She questioned in her head in frustration_ 'I feel like an idiot looking around like this, but I checked the spots we went to and he wasn't there...'_

She couldn't ask anyone at Signal if they knew him even if she wanted to since he isn't enrolled there.

And she didn't know where he lived...

This was starting to sound like a pointless endeavor.

Yang and her dad won't be expecting her back until eight, leaving her plenty of time to search for the boy who helped her, something she had been wanting to do for a while.

...and she kinda wanted to get away from them for a bit-not that she didn't love them! But...Yang started asking questions about not seeing her hang out with her usual group, and when Ruby evaded them they both started getting suspicious.

She didn't want them to know, not yet, her dad would just baby her and Yang would beat them up, which would make things worse in the long-run.

_'I really don't need that right now...' _She sighed, Ruby would rather look around aimlessly looking for Drake all day than deal with Yang questioning her _'If I were Drake, where would I go?' _

She didn't know that much about him, other than that he went through something similar to her, he liked weapons (which was a bonus!), and was pretty smart.

_'I checked the comic book store, Azure didn't see him...' _her head lowered sullenly _'Ugh, its hopeless, the one person who actually liked hanging out with me and I can't find him because I didn't get his number or even asked where he lived!' _

Her stomach grumbled.

"...maybe a little food would help" She muttered, catch a glimpse of the sign for 'Patch Delight' "Maybe I can think of more places on a full stomach"


	5. Chapter 5 Don't Get Comfortable

_**Captaindrake123: Alright, this took longer than I wanted it to. Been busy lately, but here it is! **_

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Don't Get Comfortable**_

I woke up to be met with the full force of a migraine once again.

'_Ugh! Fuck!' _I grit my teeth as I held my head _'Its as if somebody reached in and started drilling holes in my brain!' _

Why did it hurt so damn much!?

"_Your giving me fucking answers __**damnit**__!" _My voice from last night came to the forefront of my mind.

... I remember now.

I sighed tiredly, finally managing to ignore my splitting headache for the moment. Looking at the clock on the table to my right.

_6:03 A.M_

I realized I had slept through the _entire damn night. _

I don't even remember going to sleep, all I can recall is trying to coerce information out of that force in my head, and then its nothing but a blank.

"Holy shit…" I muttered, it was around six when I came in.

Apparently I slept a whole _twelve_ hours.

While I can't object to the rest my body needs, the thought of how long I had slept for disturbed me-

_Red. _

I noticed something in the corner of my eye right as I turned my head, something dripped-wait, my nose…

I reached up to my face and touched my nose, feeling something wet was on it, and then brought it up to my line of vision to see it clearly.

My blood ran cold the moment I laid eyes on said red liquid, hands stilled and eyes stuck on the red substance.

"...I'm...bleeding?" It was a nosebleed. How did I not notice it?

It wasn't ordinary, I just knew it, there was no fucking way this didn't have something to do with what happened last night.

Shoving the sheets off my bed, I stood up on my feet and hurriedly walked towards the bathroom. I opened the door and flicked on the lights, turning myself towards the mirror to see my reflection.

My nose was bloody, it wasn't too bad, but it was enough to freak me out a little. Red oozing out from my nostrils and leaving red lines down to my lips. I also seemed a little paler, my face was whiter than I would normally expect.

'_Oh my fucking universe, it did a number on me' _

Turning on the faucet, I went to wash my face, scrubbing against my nose and splashing water on my eyes to wake me up a little more. I checked to see if I was still bleeding, thankfully it seems its fine, probably stopped sometime during the night and the last of it dripped out when I sat up.

But I was still worried "...I thought they were just headaches, bad ones, but…" It seemed like it could do a lot more than that.

The headache was starting to go away, but I kept staring at myself in the mirror.

"...alright, new rule, don't do that unless I absolutely have to" I decided, if it could hurt me like this then it wasn't worth it to try again.

I think I'm okay, _think _being the key word, and I'd believe it if I didn't feel my own heart picking up in speed.

_Thump. Thump. Thump..._

"Ha…" I took a deep breath to calm myself "I'm okay…" I muttered, trying to convince myself that I believed it.

Whatever this Remnant Knowledge thing was, it can hurt me. I'm not sure if its just when I forced it to answer my questions, or if it can also just...hurt me whenever it wished it.

Whatever put this thing in my head might have my life in their hands.

_Thump!Thump!Thump!..._

My heart raced faster _'No! Calm down!' _I told myself sternly _'I don't know any of that, this is all just guesswork…' _

Fuck, my thoughts are jumbled and getting paranoid, my breathing picking up, I need to calm down.

_THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP…!_

But a small voice in the back of my head just wouldn't shut up!_ 'What if something is just watching me up there, holding a hand over a button, ready to end my life in an instant-!?' _

_SMACK! _

My left cheek hurt, and my right hand's skin stung from hitting something too hard.

"...ha...phew" I breathed in and out from, in my nose and out the mouth, the pain in my cheek grounding me back to reality "Ha...phew…" My heart began to slow down, and my eyes less frantic.

Alright, _now _I think I'm okay.

I looked back in the mirror, seeing a red hand mark on my cheek, still taking deep breaths but slowly going back to a normal breathing pattern.

"Alright, time to get ready for the day" I told myself, I needed something to do.

So I filed those paranoid thoughts in the 'Don't think about it' box, and went to put my dirty clothes in the washing machine before going to take a shower.

Its gonna be a long day.

* * *

Walking out of the hotel, I tugged at the collar of my newly cleaned jacket, the feeling of it around my torso giving a sense of comfort.

My mother sometimes commented on the fact that I wore it almost all the time, saying it was like a 'security blanket', I'd argue that I wore it because it had zip-up pockets. But in this case I'd have to agree with her, its familiarity made me feel more assured of myself.

I still had a few hours until my shift started, but after barely avoiding a panic attack this morning I decided that I needed to walk around for a bit, maybe get some breakfast. Do _anything _to relieve this feeling of...of...I dunno, terror?

Maybe not terror, but at least uneasy. I probably should be terrified, but I don't have the luxury of it.

'_I have an employee's discount at Patch Delight' _I think to myself, adjusting the backpack on my shoulders. It wasn't as heavy as before, most of what was in it being back at the hotel room, and now only carrying the uniform for my job in case I lose track of time and need to get to my shift quickly.

'_They should be open soon' _My stomach grumbled _'...not soon enough, apparently' _

Barely anyone was out, being that it was still fairly early, so I was alone on the sidewalk. The silence was calming.

'_Maybe I can start searching for an apartment' _I think to myself _'But the library won't open until twelve, so I can't use a computer to look up anything' _

That was a bust.

But I needed to do something, keep my mind busy, working, thinking. And when I remembered the familiar weight of my phone in my jacket, I remembered about the voice log I made the other day.

Sighing, I unzipped one of my jacket pockets and took out my I-Phone, turning it on.

'_Battery is at fifty percent, great' _I thought sarcastically, wondering if I could even recharge my phone on this world's power grid, or if it would just blow up from the attempt.

I don't even know how this world's electrical systems work, it seems similar, but I know for certain that it can't be entirely the same since it runs on a completely different resource. I'm probably gonna need to make something to charge it myself...

Moving my thumb over the screen, I went to Voice Memos and hit the record button, holding the phone up next to my mouth.

"_Explorer's log, August 16th, 7:32 A.M." _I spoke, continuing to walk _"Its my fourth day on Remnant, and I finally have a place to sleep at a place called Hotel Ivory"_

"_I have gotten a job at a place called Patch Delight, a small restaurant" _I glanced at a person walking by me in the opposite direction, and waited until she passed before speaking again _"I'm getting myself a stable income and plan to look for an apartment, then I can get to work as to figure out how I got here" _

The memory of what happened last night resurfaced, and I let out a bit of a shaky breath _"...I also forgot to mention something the last time I recorded, about the Remnant Knowledge" _

"_Ever since I got here I've been having strange moments where I...know something I shouldn't" _I'm trying to figure out how to explain it without me sounding crazy _"Its as if I had known something about this world all along, but I know that I didn't before, its the strangest feeling" _

"_Something in my head is supplying me information, and its probably the reason as to why I'm here...I'm not sure how or why, its mostly random in what information it relays to me" _I paused _" I did discover that I can __**force **__it to give me specific information, but…" _

A memory of blood dripping from my nose flashes through my mind, and I currently feel a small headache.

"_It hurts me" _I stated _"When I tried to force information out, I got it, but it...hurt me, I feel disoriented and unaware of my surroundings, and I feel like something is drilling into my brain, and last night I had passed out and slept for twelve hours from an attempt, and had a bloody nose when I woke up"_

"_I don't know what this means, of whether or not it only hurt because I myself was doing it, or…if the Remnant Knowledge could hurt me whenever it wished" _I let out another shaky breath.

I have no idea what this thing in my head is or why it is there. There are a lot of theories I can come up with as to what its there for, none of them good.

Its really fucking terrifying if you think about it.

But I remembered something from last night that helped deter those thoughts _"I remember when I was forcing it to answer my questions last night, it didn't seem to have any answers as to why I was here, as if it didn't know itself" _

"_It frustrated the hell out of me, but...if it didn't know why I was here, that suggests that it wasn't the direct cause as to how I came to be here" _While frustrating as to still not having answers, it was also relieving in the sense that the Remnant Knowledge didn't seem to have plans for me being part of an alien experiment or something.

I'm already on another planet, it was certainly possible. For all I know a Grey alien decided to do this for shits and giggles.

"_But I can't be sure of anything at this point, there's still so much I don't know, about this world and this thing in my head, I need to learn as much as possible as I get myself settled in before I can rule out anything" _I checked the time, Patch Delight is gonna open in ten minutes.

"_Now I guess all I have to do is get by the entire week to get my paycheck and find and apartment, see how that goes" _

End log.

Putting way the phone, I started walking towards Patch Delight. By the time I got there they were just opening, I see a familiar head of green moving through the window, flipping the sign to signify they were open for business.

I raised an eyebrow _'Olive's here? I didn't see her in the schedule for the morning shift' _

"Oh, hey Drake" Olive greeted me as I walked in-and then abruptly yawned "ahh…"

Not surprised she's tired, she worked a lot yesterday from what I could tell "Are you covering for someone's shift?" I asked in curiosity, that was the most likely explanation.

She nodded a bit tiredly "Yep, got a call early this morning, apparently Roux's wife had to be rushed to the hospital, she's there right now" Olive smiled "Their having a baby, I'm so happy for them"

Huh, gay marriage is okay here too then, that's cool "I'll have to congragulate her "I paused "...well, after I meet her"

"Oh, yeah, you two haven't met yet" Olive realized, moving over to the counter "You'll meet everyone here soon enough" She sighed "I was the only one available to take her place, considering your new and don't know how to get prep done yet, she woke me up really early and said she had to get to the hospital..."

"And you couldn't say no" I summed up. How could you if the person on the other line's spouse was in labor.

"Pretty much!" She laughed "Anyway, I'm guessing your here to order?"

"Taking advantage of my employee's discount" I joked lightly, walking over to a table.

She laughed again "Who doesn't? I can take your order now if your ready" Olive pulled out a pen and a notebook to get my order

I proceeded to tell her what it was, a serving of pancakes, eggs, and sausage. She wrote it down and told me it would be ready soon before she left.

And as I waited, I took the time to think.

'_...even if I plan to figure out how I got here after getting an apartment, where do I start?' _

The warehouse?

'_Its probably still being watched by police, I couldn't get close even if I wanted to right now' _I thought bitterly, scowling a little _'What other leads do I have?' _

The Remnant Knowledge was a bust, it didn't even know why I was here. And I'm not too keen on trying to force information out of it again.

_Pale face, blood dripping from my nose…_

I unconsciously shivered, I didn't want to remember those fears right now. There was enough to deal with already.

Anyway, the fact of the matter is that I'm trying to figure what I'm supposed to do. Was there anything I _could _do at this point?

'_I feel like I'm not trying hard enough-but what else can I do? What else is there to think about? I collected information to help understand the world I'm in, I successfully found a job and a place to sleep, got enough food and water, am I missing anything important?' _

My mind kept going through them like a checklist, over and over, making sure I didn't accidentally forget something important.

Obviously there was still stuff to do be done, like collecting more information about the world and its inhabitance, but what could I do right now that could help? Am I forgetting anything?

Maybe I should start thinking about where I need to start looking-

My ears picked up footsteps, and is if by instinct, my stomach realized my food was ready and growled.

And not a moment after, Olive showed up with a tray of a full course breakfast "Here you go, do you need anything else? More water?"

'_Food now, think later' _I told her that I was fine, and after she left I proceeded to dig in, enjoying the taste of the pancakes, they tasted just like the ones on Earth.

My whole family liked pancakes, I could remember the times when my mother made some for me, setting up plates at the counter for us to take. Sometimes there was arguing between them on taking one too many...

'_I hope your all doing okay' _I think to myself, smiling a little at the memory.

And after eating the entire plate, I had relaxed a little. Maybe it was the hunger being satisfied, or just the reminder of home, but I felt calmer and more clear headed.

'_I'm doing fine' _I got up out of my seat, raising my hand for the check _'It's not like I'm in danger or anything, I can relax a little' _

After paying the check, I asked Olive if I could come in the back with her so she could show me more of what the preparations are like, and since the restaurant was still pretty empty she accepted.

'_There's no need to rush things, I just need to think and do this carefully and I'll be fine' _

* * *

After having spoken with Olive, I had left the restaurant and began aimlessly walking again. Still having some time to kill, I decided to head to one of the Dust shops that Ruby had shown me.

My curiosity was what mainly lead to it, the idea of a whole new resource powering the planet- much less one that seemed to be like magic- peaked my interest.

I wasn't gonna buy any of it, but I wanted to get a good look at it.

'_This world really is a lot like mine' _I thought as I glanced at some of the cars driving by _'Even with the faunus and this Dust stuff, its a lot like Earth…' _

I just couldn't wrap my head around it, everything I know tells me that alien life wouldn't look like a human's. There's actually not a lot of differences that would really clash with our own ideals- except maybe gun control.

Yet here it is.

'_Is there a common ancestry between us?' _That would be the most likely explanation, some other alien race came to Earth, picked up some humans, and then dropped them here...or is it the other way around? Maybe its neither.

Even in this situation I can't help but be fascinated by it. A large part of me wanted to explore it for everything it held-

"Ugh…"

I paused from my musings at hearing a loud groan _'What was that?', _looking around, I didn't see anyone on the sidewalk except a few people around the corner…

"It hurts…" That came from my right- I snapped my head to the source of the voice, it was close.

Hesitantly walking closer, I realized it was coming by an alleyway _'Is someone injured?' _I could hear more groaning, it was feminine, and once my eyes roamed the area I could see someone by a couple of garbage cans, crouching and grunting in pain with their back against a wall.

After finding the source, I hesitated _'Should...should I do something?' _I feel like a horrible person even asking that question, but its not unwarranted _'Why is this person in an alleyway? Shouldn't she be calling for help?'_

It was suspicious on that front, but it could also just be a fact that she was assaulted here and _couldn't _call for help. She might not be able to move.

But that leaves another question: Is the attacker still around?

My eyes roamed the alleyway, it wasn't that big, there were a few garbage cans and boxes, but no signs of other people _'It looks like there's no one else here…' _

"Someone…" My head turned back to the woman-girl, she sounded young. There were some cuts on her arms I could visibly see, having them wrapped around her legs as she buried her face in them "...please…"

My heart clenched at how weak she sounded _'Can't... someone else help her?' _

How many other people walked past her?

'_Damn it conscience!' _I bit the inside of my cheek, an internal war of self preservation and compassion once again raging in my mind...and it seems the ladder already won, because I began stepping into the alleyway.

'_I don't know the extent of her injuries, if I leave her here and look for someone else to help she might not make it' _I still had an unsettling feeling in my gut, but I couldn't ignore her.

She didn't even look up as I approached, as if not realizing I'm here. I adjusted my posture to appear as non-threatening as possible, keeping my hands in front of me where she can clearly see them.

"Mam?" Her shoulders tensed, but she didn't look up. I crouched in front of her, hesitant to touch in fear I might hurt her more, I pursed my lips as I thought of what to say "Your going to be okay, I can help you" I said softly, trying to calm her down.

I saw a few more scratches, but nothing else that suggests serious injuries, her face was still covered by her knees and her orange hair _'They could be under her clothes' _I reminded myself "I need to know how bad it is, can I walk you to a hospital? I can carry you if I have to"

"N-No…" She muttered quietly, still keeping her head down "I-It hurts too much…"

'_Damn' _I thought, biting the inside of my cheek again as I glanced out of the alleyway "Alright, I don't have a ph- scroll so I need to find someone who does" I stood up "I'll be right back-!"

"No!" Before I could move I felt a hand put a tight grip on my wrist, I looked down to see it was hers. It was... strong.

'_What…?' _Something was wrong, if she was that weak she shouldn't be able to have a grip like this, and her voice sounded normal compared to before...

I looked down at her, seeing she finally looked up from her knees with gold eyes…and then she gave a toothy smile.

My heart dropped at the sight of her _fangs_.

The sound of metal hitting the ground along with footsteps behind me made me realize what was about to happen, my brain raced as I willed my body to move-!

I felt someone grab the back of my jacket, I quickly snapped my wrist out of the girl's grip-!

Too late, I can feel the familiar sensation of _cold metal_ against the front of my neck.

"Don't move" A masculine and young voice growled behind me "You know how much it smells in that garbage can?" He directed the question at the girl.

"Suck it up big baby, we got the guy" She retorted, flicking her hair back a little.

"What do you want?" I immediately asked, the fact that they haven't killed me yet means they want something from me "Money? You can just take my wallet"

It was better than my life, but I had a dark feeling that money wasn't what they wanted.

And my fears came true when the girl laughed a little "Your money? We're not muggers, we're freedom fighters"

'_Terrorists' _My mind translated.

These two are part of the White Fang.

Their with the same people who tried to kill me when I first got here.

But how did they know I was gonna be here!? Did they follow me!? Why!?

"What do you want?" I asked again, already having a vague idea as my mind sought for reasons.

"Did you seriously think you could just walk out of our base like nothing happened?" The guy behind me questioned, proving my assumption correct. They're here because of my appearance at their warehouse, taking out one of their men.

My hands were on his arms, if I could find an opening…

"We've been keeping an eye on you" The girl stated, grinding my mind to a halt "Helping out a troubled girl? Knew you couldn't resist helping another one" She grinned toothily again, the fangs unsettling me "We'll probably get a promotion for this"

They were watching me that long?! But who-

"_Now go cheer her up" _

_Deer antlers. _

That ice-cream vendor?

It could have been, but then again it could've been anyone with animal appendages. Any faunus I walked by could have been watching me. In the back of my mind something was shouting at me that wasn't right, that it was wrong to judge an entire species like that. But it was overwhelmed by the fear, the paranoia of knowing that they are _watching _me.

"Lets get him into the car" My blood ran cold when she said that "Get this human back to base for questioning"

'_They're going to kidnap me!' _Who knows what they'll do, they may torture me for whatever information they think I have.

"C'mon" The man behind me nudged me forward, his partner walked ahead of us and lead the way.

I can't let them put me in that car, I'm as good as dead if I do.

I have to escape.

_**Now. **_

My eyes narrowed, running scenarios in my head. I needed an opening, just a moment where the knife isn't on my neck, even if it was just less than a centimeter away. I can't wait, I need to make one.

I purposely stumbled a little, pretending to trip on one of the soup cans that was on the ground, it made him shift the positioning of his arm.

"I don't know anything" I began to talk, I need to distract them "I don't even know how I got there" That was all true, I don't know anything about that warehouse other than-

"Shut up human" The man behind me grunted, shoving me forward.

He pushed harder on my left shoulder, I leaned back to my right side...

The moment I felt the knife leaving the littlest distance from my skin, my left hand was on top of his grip on the blade's handle and I pulled the knife towards my chest-"HEY!"

When a man has a knife to your neck, and you have no other options, you look for a chance to pull it down and put the flat end of it to your chest, effectively hugging it so he can't use it.

Then I crouched as far as I could in this struggle-"UGH!" I elbowed him in the nuts as hard as I could!

I hear a clang hit the ground, it was the knife, he lost his grip "You little…!" The girl began to pull something from behind her- a weapon.

I quickly took advantage of his pain, grabbing the arm with the knife and twisted myself around his body "Y-AH!" I pushed up on his arm in a joint lock behind his back, I then _pushed _on said arm hard enough to throw him into the vampire girl.

She grunted as he slammed into her, dropping her weapon-a gun, it dropped to the ground as they crashed into some trash cans.

"AH! I-It hurts!" The man-he had goat horns and black hair, his blue eyes wide in pain as he held his arm, and considering how hard I pushed on that arm in a way it wasn't supposed to, I'm not surprised.

My eyes landed on the gun, I ran towards it, the girl was running towards it too, and so I lunged for the weapon.

Our bodies slammed together as we both had our hands on the weapon "Let go!" She shouted, as if I was stupid enough to listen, and I grunted as I kicked out at her and tried to tear it away.

"Ah!" I grunted as she kneed me in the gut, but my grip held strong, and I raised the gun above us and rammed my shoulder into her, right into the wall.

The gun was out of her hands, but it wasn't in mine either. It dropped out of both of our grasps, but I quickly decided that it was better that no one had the gun than her having the gun, and kicked it away with my feet.

"Human bastard, screw bringing you in!" Her hands went behind her again under the cloth, and I heard the distinct sound of a blade being unsheathed before quickly jumping back, her knife hit air "I'll kill you!"

'_Shit!' _I moved to the right, deeper into the alley as she made another swipe at me, the other guy was still on the ground holding his likely dislocated arm.

She wasn't giving me any chances and kept swiping her knife towards me as I jumped back or quickly moved out of the way, keeping my arms spread and in front of my body, I need to disarm her but its hard to make an opening without much space in this alley-

"Ah!" I held my right wrist, the bottom of it was cut, it wasn't too deep but it was bleeding a little.

'_Running out of room!' _I realized, seeing a wall next to me out of the corner of my vision-

The vampire girl held up the blade to her mouth and then did something I'd never expected, she licked the blood on it, staring at me right in the eye as she did so "Huh...I never tasted this before"

Shivers surged down my spine. It disturbed me to my very core, she really is a fucking vampire…

But that terror was overwhelmed by something else, a feeling of being..._done_ with this. This is bullshit! One moment I'm just minding my fucking business and then I have to deal with _this shit! _

I just tried to help someone! Fucking damn it I'm not dying to this bullshit!

As she came closer, I feel myself bump lightly into a metal garbage can-_'Wait, perfect!' _My hand snatched the top lid as she came for me, and I used the lid to deflect the knife away like a shield, and then thrust it forward to _bash _it into her skull!

The girl grunted as her head flew back, I see a trickle of blood flowing down from her forehead, I don't allow her the luxury of recovering as I quickly grabbed the garbage can itself and tossed down towards her legs.

"Y-You little-! AH!" I kicked the can into her legs, the garbage spilling out everywhere, and she was forced off her feet and fell onto her back.

"RAHHH!" My head whipped to the source of the battle-cry, the goat horned guy seemed to finally get up.

I simply sidestepped to the left, letting him miss completely, and then kicked his abdomen as he ran "AH!" He coughed out spit, I then pulled back a fist decked him across the jaw!

He wildly swung his good arm at me, but I ducked and punched him in the jaw again "Ah! You fucking-GUH!" I didn't give him a chance to speak, I threw fist after fist: Hitting his nose, ribs, temples, and solar plexis. He could hardly keep up with me with his injured arm.

It was so one-sided that he raised his arms over his head, desperately trying to block my hits, and I decided to end it by jumping up and sending a kick to his head. It knocked him backwards off his feet and his back into the wall, his goat horns scraping against the surface behind him "Ah...!"

My heart is pumping, my breathing fast paced-my hands actually _hurt _from how hard I punched that guy.

Adrenaline is running through my system as I turned my way towards the girl. She's heading for the gun!

'_Like hell!' _She didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of getting to that gun before I got to her.

I tackled her into the wall "I'll kill you!" She shouted, I gritted my teeth in annoyance as I pulled her to face me "GAH!" I punched her in the face, and then slammed a fist into her gut, forcing the air out of her lungs.

She was doubled over and coughing, trying to catch her breath "Ugh...fucking damn it…UGH!"

The frustration of the past few days burst out in the form of my fist, punching her into the wall, I then grabbed her collar and dragged her over "RAH!" I threw her at her friend, she slammed into him again, ruining any progress he made at getting up.

For a moment, I took a good look around me...and at myself, my ruffled clothes and the cut on my wrist, along with a few new bruises.

_This _was what I got for trying to be a decent fucking person.

"_Look! The weirdo is getting mad!" _

"_Think you can beat us!?" _

"_Y-Your supposed to be the nerd! GAH!"_

It was no different from Earth.

"Leave me the hell _alone_!" I shouted at them, absolutely livid, tightening my fists as I walked forward "Get out of here!" I can't turn them in to the police lest they mention my involvement with the White Fang, and I'm not gonna kill them, so it was best that they just leave with their tails tucked between their legs.

They actually flinched and began scrambling to get away.

"Daisy, let's go…!" The man shouted.

"Tch…!" The girl grit her teeth angrily as she and her friend got up and started running, exiting the alleyway as fast as they could with their injuries.

I just watched them go, my chest rising and falling quickly "Ha…ha..." I tried to relax my breathing, holding my bleeding wrist _'Fucking damn it…' _

I was nearly kidnapped by fucking terrorists.

"I think I'm starting to hate this planet…" I muttered to myself tiredly.

It was enough that I had animal people shooting me when I first got here, now their fucking watching me. And no doubt after kicking their asses I'm on the shitlist of the terrorist organization for a species who hate humans-

'_Wait…' _My mind grinded to a halt, something clicked.

I'm not sure what it was that did it, maybe it was the cliché sounding alien threats in movies and TV shows that those terrorists shouted at me as we fought, and how I was reminded of where I arrived here on this planet in the first place…

But pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together in my mind, I arrived here...in a White Fang warehouse.

I am being followed and watched, and was apparently ordered to be brought back in alive-even if in the end they decided to kill me, it didn't change their original goal-by White Fang operatives.

_The vampire girl held up the blade to her mouth and then did something I'd never expected, she licked the blood on it, staring at me right in the eye as she did so "Huh...I never tasted this before" _

Did she...know?

My eyes snapped open wide, and my legs were already in motion!

A chance for answers! And it is getting away!

A chance to get _**home**_!

My family, my pets, my house, my life- _**everything**_!

"-GAH!" Something yanked on my neck, my shirt was being pulled back. Someone is pulling on my collar!

I turned my head angrily, expecting to see another terrorist trying to sneak up on me- "Oi kid!" An old human man with grey hair was what I was met with, glaring at me angrily as he pointed behind himself towards the alley "I thought it was a bunch of cats, but it looks like you're the one causing trouble! Look at what you did back there!"

"Let me go! Their getting away!" I shouted, squirmed to get out of his grip off me, to catch up to them, my only lead home!

"If you think your getting away without cleaning-!"

I made to elbow the old man to escape- _SCREEE!  
_

But I immediately stopped at the sound of screeching tires, seeing a black car driving away and gaining speed. "Damn teenage drivers!" The old man shouted in annoyance.

.

.

.

They got away.

My only lead to a way home, and I just let them get away.

But my apparent despair didn't deter an angry old man "Alright kid!" He turned me around and pointed towards the mess that was made of that alley "Your not going anywhere until you pick up all this trash!"

What he said was baffling in my current state of mind, I tried to protest "But I didn't-"

His glaring shut me up, "Someone is cleaning this up! And its not gonna be me! Now get to picking up the trash!"

* * *

I ended up picking up the trash, but thankfully the old man was at least kind enough to give me a bandage and some disinfectant for the cut on my wrist.

But since the smell of garbage lingered on me, I had to head back to the hotel and take another shower. I threw my clothes in the washing machine and just got to scrubbing, and had decided to just put on my work uniform as the time for my shift was getting close.

My body was just going through the motions the whole time, the pain from the cut didn't even register as my mind was constantly thinking. My body moving without the need for much thought, I kept replaying what happened in my mind.

'_They've been watching me' _I grab my work cap and place it on my head, tying my apron around my waist _'And I nearly got kidnapped' _

It was...laughable how quickly everything changed, in just a moment, everything had turned upside down on my head.

I pulled on my shoes _'But I have a lead' _There was no way to confirm it right now, but it all added up with what I've dealt with so far. Somehow, someway, the White Fang is responsible for my being here.

Somehow that made it all the more eye opening as to my situation. Was it on purpose? An accident? Did they plan this? What were they going to do with me if they did?

I had no answers to these questions, but it led to the decision I made to hide some throwing knives on my person, an arm attached sheath with three throwing knives pushed up to my upper arm.

I pulled my sleeve down, covering it _'I got too complacent in my stay on this world, there is still so much I don't know' _

Even if it was only for a short time, I had forgotten that this world had just as many dangers as it did wonders.

I don't know if somewhere along the way I just decided that everything would be easy, or if it was just a subconscious thing, but I got cocky, feeling secure. That no one could see me as anything other than one of them. I thought that the only thing I had to worry about was the things in my own head.

But that's changed, I now have reason to believe a terrorist organization knows I'm an alien. That they are spying on me, keeping tabs on my whereabouts.

I can't just walk around freely, I need to take precautions, maybe even make weapons.

But as I walked out of the hotel, I couldn't help but consider a sliver of hope.

'_If the White Fang really did bring me here...then its only a matter of time before someone tries to kidnap me again' _

While this would normally be a bad thing, it leaves an opportunity for me _'If I could get the drop on them, I could question them' _I could figure out what happened.

Did I expect it to be that simple? No, there's no way a bunch of grunts would know about something as important as the secret to traveling to other worlds, but information is information. They likely heard something from someone about it, and it could lead me to somewhere where I could find answers.

It was risky, but it was the only semblance of an idea I had on how to find a way back to Earth.

Plans are already forming in my head, from making smoke bombs to tasers, I came up with endless ideas on how to incapacitate someone. It bubbled up excitement in me as much as it made me nervous...because even though its dangerous, even though its one hell of a shot in the dark, it was something.

I finally had _**something **_to work with!

There was a flicker of hope that I can find my way out of this, and I was gonna hold onto it no matter what.

After all, I'm gonna need everything I can get if I'm gonna pull it off.

'_Time to look extra smiley today at work, more tips means more money to spend on ways to make this plan work' _I thought determinedly, already thinking of what I need to make different items that could help me. I may not be able to make anything until I get an apartment, but I can get the supplies needed to make them as soon as I can.

While the euphoric feeling of finally having a lead was somewhat dampened by the knowledge that I may be watched even now, and that I can't do anything with that knowledge for the moment, the fact that I have an actual goal felt like I had made some sort of progress. Perhaps its only marginal, barely a step above ground, but my head wasn't quite as buried in the sand anymore.

Approaching the restaurant, I kindly held open a door for a woman and her child, I politely accepted her thanks as I then came in my self.

It had gotten more packed since earlier, and I see Olive talking to someone in front of me-"Drake!" She suddenly called to me, and I stood to attention "We're having some trouble, would you clock in a little early-?"

"_DRAKE_!?"

I winced at the sudden high pitched scream-but then was surprised at the sight of the familiar person. A short, fifteen year old girl with red tipped black hair facing me... the red hooded huntress-in-training I met my second day on Remnant

Her widened silver eyes met mine.

A familiar sensation that I hadn't felt all day settled over my mind _'Silver eyes are passed down from generation to generation of special warriors who could kill Grimm in an instant'_

'_Oh, now you start talking' _I thought in annoyance, having enjoyed the silence of the Remnant Knowledge while it lasted.

* * *

_**Captaindrake123: Alright, next chapter things get a little more interesting. I'm sure most of you have noticed how I'm taking time setting everything up, showing how it all affects Drake mentally and how he goes about surviving this world. **_

_**Its somewhat difficult, but I feel its important to establish exactly what's happening in this period of time, a lot of other authors kinda just skip the actual beginning to get to the plot quicker-which is not necessarily bad all the time, but it can make it so the story lacks details and can leave for gaping holes later on.**_

**_Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the fight scene. Gives you a little bit more of a glimpse of what our protagonist has dealt with before. _**

_**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and leave a review, the next one will be out soon! **_

**_...ah, silly me, one more thing before I go. Enjoy the omake. _**

* * *

**_Omake: Discipline_**

The forests of the island of Patch were large and numerous, a beautifal lush of green swept off the land. Tree branches swinging from the wind, the sun was setting and the chirps of crickets began to echo.

Many dangers lurk in the forest, some being that of large animals, but a more prominant threat was that of the Grimm, the creatures of darkness that have no other desire than the carnage and destruction of humanity.

But sometimes...the greatest monster was man itself, or something in between.

Tents were set up in a secluded area in the forest, men walking about and taking shifts to watch out for any dangers to their camp.

In one of said tents to their camp, their stood two White Fang members in front of their leader, one with orange hair and golden eyes, and the other with black hair and blue eyes, his arm was noticabley hung in a sling.

Both were bruised, beaten, and ashamed.

"Tell me you two..." The man in front of them walked around them, his height taller than the both of them, hands behind his back, his voice filled with annoyance "What was the order I gave regarding the human we were watching?"

"..." They both stayed silent, only standing straight to attention.

The man shook his head, his black White Fang mask worn proudly on his face, his hand combed through his jet black hair as he gave a sigh "Answer the question"

"...to leave the target alone" The goat faunus stated "Only observe"

"Yes, very good, I see you have a decent memory" He walked towards his desk "So that means you didn't just _forget _those orders when you ran off after him"

The air was tense, neither of the two spoke up.

"So that means you purposefully disregared orders from your commander" He stated, picking up a pen from his table, acting like it was something interesting. Moving it around in his fingers, giving a clear line of sight to the two officers of it.

"But sir!" The girl with fangs protested "We had him-!"

"And then you lost him" He interrupted, shutting her up in an instant without even raising his voice, he set the pen down and turned to face them "He bested you"

"He got the drop on us sir-"

"After you had a knife to his throat" That made the goat faunus click his mouth shut "and he still beat you, and worst of all, he let you go"

That made the girl's nose curl up in anger.

"Surely you must have noticed it, he could have killed you two, or just knock you out and turn you into the authorities, but no, he let you get away" The commander looked right into her eyes, unblinking "Because in his eyes, you weren't a threat anymore"

He suddenly turned away, walking around them "And of course you weren't!" He suddenly shouted, making them tense up as he looked them over "He took out Banesaw! So what I'm wondering is what was going through your heads that could _possibly _make you think you stood a chance!"

"If I had my aura unlocked I could've beaten him!" The girl shouted back "If you could just unlock it-!"

"You jeopordize our operation on this island..." Walking up to her face once more, he glared into her nervous golden eyes "You disobey orders, made the human aware of our surveillance on him, and yet you still demand something of me?"

"..."

"No, you cannot even follow orders properly, you are undisciplined, I will not waste time and resources on you" The commander sighed "The only reason I am not punishing the two of you right now is because you are still well-trained fighters and can still be useful, we need every faunus we can get"

"But this stops here" He ordered firmly, glaring at them "You will not attempt to capture him again, or disobey any other orders, otherwise..."

_Bang! _

A pistol had been whipped out so fast the two didn't even see it, a bullet hole clear on the entrance of the tent, and a clear scrape on the girl's cheek as blood leaked out of it and dripped down to her chin.

He still held up the gun "I have no use for you" He finished, slowly putting it away back into its holster on his hip "Am I understood?"

Both were shocked still, the girl, still some fight left in her eyes, opened her mouth to speak "I-"

"Am I understood!?" He repeated, louder.

Any marginal will to argue that is left was utterly crushed "Y-Yes Commander Blanc" They both answered, standing up straighter and hearing to his authority.

"Good, your to report to the infiltration team ready to initiate a rescue for Banesaw in the hospital immediately" He ordered, "Feel grateful that I spare you of punishment, do not make me regret it...otherwise I will have to correct that mistake"

The threat was not lost on them, and the two promptly began to walk out of the tent, the girl took one last bitter glance at her commander before gritting her teeth, her friend patting her shoulder to calm her down.

Once they left, the White Fang Commander turned back to the table, taking a seat, and pulling out a yellow envelope, opening it up and pouring out the contents onto the table.

Photographs, they were of all different places and events, but the same person was in the center of it all.

He picked one up, a picture of two combatants on top of a roof: A White Fang Lieutenant stumbling forward, getting slashed on the back from a brown haired human boy with a green knife, wearing a red backpack and a black and orange jacket with a strange symbol on its front right side.

This single human had turned their heads upside down, causing a chain of events that led to the Patch Police Force now being aware of their presence.

A bright flash of white light, and then a boy with a fire in his eyes. Even from just looking at the photo he could see the fires of determination in the human's glare. The utter defiance and calculative gaze as he fought what was clearly a stronger opponent.

"Drake Joseph..." Blanc muttered, setting down the photo with the others, ones of the same boy walking about town with a cautious gaze and hanging out with a red hooded huntress in training.

For now, they would just watch and observe.

He smirked "A very strange name, there's something special about you, and I intend to use it"

After all, a good commander knows when to exploit an opportunity.


	6. Chapter 6 Science and Socializing

**_Captaindrake123: Next chapter is here, but before that-wow, over 3,500 views, 30 favorites, and 47 follows so far, that's pretty good. Only complaint is that I wish people would review more._**

**_Now to answer those said reviews here._**

**_proiu: Don't worry, more is coming!_**

**_Guest: As for the aura situation, and whether or not Drake has one, that's gonna be explored at a later date. _**

**_Guest: Haha! That's a decent guess, but c'mon man, you don't think I'd make it that easy would you? _****_I'll give you a freebie and say this, and will not confirm or deny anything else after this, but Jinn is not the connection between Drake and the Remnant Knowledge. _**

**_Gobert600: Glad you seem to be enjoying it! _**

**_GravityMassUniverse: Thank you for the feedback, I'm glad that my story's protagonist is engaging to read. Although I do wonder about what SI/OC story your talking about..._**

**_Guest: Thanks for the encouragement. _**

**_whitefri2z: Aw man, I was really hoping for more reviews, oh well. Anyway, while Drake does have a troubled past, he's not emo-goth about it, rather his mindset is one that let's him "Keep moving forward", he didn't let it control him and moved on. Does it still bother him sometimes? Yeah, but it doesn't cripple him or anything. There will be plot points later on about it. _**

**_AbsoluteProcrastinator: And my first review on this story for last, I'm glad you enjoyed the start so much and I hope you'll be just as entertained throughout the whole story. _**

**_Well that's all of the reviews, I'm not gonna respond to all of them like this too often._**

**_Onwards to the story!_**

* * *

**_Chapter 6: Science and Socializing_**

¨And here is the bathroom¨ The man showed the lavatory, walking inside, turning on the faucet and flushing the toilet ¨Piping works great, you can check the shower too, it works as well, but it takes a while for it to get hot water¨ He turned off the faucet as he then proceeded to show the shower head.

I nodded ¨That's fine¨ It would be somewhat bothersome, but I could deal with it.

Currently I am in the middle of a showcase of my new apartment by my landlord while holding a box of my stuff, its a very small place, but its not like I need that much space. Its been over a week since I showed up on Remnant, and I´ve finally got a stable enough income to afford an apartment.

Walking back out, he showed me the bedroom ¨One bedroom with a small bed and a dresser, there´s a window right there¨ He pointed to the other end of the room, a small window in the middle wall.

He proceeded to show that it opened and closed perfectly ¨I like to run a clean place¨ He stated.

¨I can see that¨ I looked around the place, it was small, but cozy. Nothing is broken or dirty, although there is nothing extraordinary about it either.

¨That means I expect you to keep this in order too, your paying for any damages you make, and I expect you to keep it down at night¨ The bald man said sternly, I nodded in understanding.

Walking out of the room, we´re in the living space now. It was basically a bigger than the two rooms combined that I was just in, but it also had an open kitchen with a counter. the kitchen itself taking a good amount of said space.

A fridge, a TV, and a single futon ¨You´ll have to buy your own utensils¨ He reminded.

_´Mental note: Go out and buy pans, pots, and silverware´ _I nodded again.

He looked around for a moment ¨Alright then...¨ Looking at me, the man pointed a thumb at the door ¨If you have any questions, or need to report something, just come to me...¨ He grumbled something about loud neighbors.

Sounds annoying, I have to remind myself to get earplugs ¨Thank you sir¨ I thanked sincerely.

¨Bah!¨ He waved it off with his hand ¨Just call me Ash, I hope you like living here, its not much¨

¨I don´t need much¨ I assured, confident that it will be fine.

¨Still...what´s a kid like you doin supporting yer´self? Any family?¨ He asked curiously.

¨...I´d rather not answer, its personal¨ I said carefully, I feel my hands tighten around the box I'm holding.

I think he noticed, because his eyes softened ¨Ah...well, you said you were from outside the Kingdoms...its none of my business, just remember that the rent is paid by the month¨

¨I understand¨ I nod again, he hummed in satisfaction.

¨Alright then, you know where to find me¨ He walked to the door, opening it. But before he walked out he turned to me ¨Oh, and congratulations on the new place¨ He chuckled a bit before he walked out and closed the door behind him.

.

.

.

I just stood in the same spot for a full minute. I have my own place now...its giving me mixed feelings.

On one hand, I feel prideful. I´m surviving on my own, I have my own place and a steady job to keep me fed. I know how to cook, all I need is to buy some groceries and utensils. Its relieving not to have to live without a place to sleep.

But on the other hand, this whole situation I´m in felt even _more _real all of a sudden, I didn't even think that was possible at this point.

¨Ha...¨ I let out a large breath, gently setting down the box and dropping my backpack on the couch, and then immediately slumping on said couch.

¨...fucking damn it¨ I rub the bridge of my nose. I thought I would move out of my own house when I was eighteen, not sixteen and lost on another planet.

Talk about interstellar real-estate...

Finding that I didn't want to unpack at the moment, I took out my phone and went to Voice Memos.

I sat up straight and pressed record _"Explorer's log, August 22nd, 10:09 a.m" _

"_Where to start? Its been almost a week since my last entry, been trying to save power as much as I can on my phone until I can make something to charge it" _

I briefly checked the battery level: 19%

Should I be surprised that I still have it that high? I mean, I'm not really using the phone for anything other than looking up my notes, which I took pictures from back home.

"_But suffice to say, I did it, I managed to get an apartment" _I frowned _"Not to say that there weren't a few bumps on the road, like finding out that I have terrorists watching me and nearly getting kidnapped" _

"_I managed to beat them and let them go-I couldn't turn them in without the police asking about why they were trying to kidnap me, and no way was I gonna kill them- and I came to the realization that they might be the reason I'm here" _

Getting up off the couch, I started pacing _"I mean, it makes sense. I appeared in one of the warehouses they've been hiding in, they were apparently secretly monitoring me after I escaped, and they sent someone to kidnap me...so at least I have an idea of who might have brought me here, but how or why is still a work in progress"_

I paused _"Other than that, nothing really important happened, over the course of the week there were no other attempts to kidnap me, or major reveals, or...anything, it was almost boring, just doing what I had to do to get by day in and day out" _

It was surprisingly plain, I looked for an apartment and kept working, learning, and doing bunch of legal work to get myself an I.D. The immigration system was not _nearly _as chaotic as the one in the United States, but its still a tiresome and time expending process.

"_At first I was paranoid, swearing I saw someone around the corner who was watching me, I always reached for my hidden throwing knives when I talked to a faunus. But I realized not long after that they would likely take their time after the recent failure before trying again"_

That thought made me nervous on how much time they were taking to come after me again, every day that passes is another day where they are scheming for a way to capture me.

"_It looks like I was right, and I didn't discover anything else that was strange or dangerous about the Remnant Knowledge or this planet-other than maybe these things called 'Grimm', but I'm honestly not sure whether or not to believe they exist: Soulless monsters that are creatures of darkness, don't need to eat or drink, and are attracted to negative emotions_

Haven't tried anything with the Remnant Knowledge, and it hasn't done anything different either. It just went back to randomly giving me information at random moments again. It's even mentioned the Grimm a few times.

"_Yeah, kinda of a bit crazy sounding...but I wouldn't rule it out, its mentioned a lot throughout their history-as in, every book has at least a few mentions of it, not to mention the fact that the Remnant Knowledge tells me their real and it hasn't been wrong yet, maybe they are monsters and its just propaganda saying they're soulless and don't eat?" _

I shook my head _"But I'm getting off topic-not enough battery life for that- it was an uneventful six days, full of studying of the world's history, working, searching for an apartment and...chatting" _

That last one was a bit forced, I wasn't sure how to describe it, but 'chatting' is as close as I'm gonna get...

"_And by chatting, I mean...well, remember when I said that it was _almost _boring? I've been spending some time talking to the girl I met on my second day here: Ruby Rose"_

Yeah, me talking to an unrelated girl regularly. That was something to get used to.

It was most certainly not something I expected to happen, I suppose I could've seen her at Patch Delight or something, but not actively talk with her. I kind of figured she would've forgot about me or something, maybe it was just wishful thinking.

"_I...honestly wasn't expecting to see her again, but it looks like the universe had other plans, it started with when I met her for the second time at Patch Delight…" _

* * *

_Six days ago…_

Standing near the exit of Patch Delight, right in the middle of a co-worker and a mother with her young son, a staring contest was going down between me and the red hooded girl.

What is she doing here? To eat, obviously. But why at this _exact moment? _

Seriously, its as if the universe has a bone to pick with me today. Throwing me one thing after another with the Remnant Knowledge hurting me, having a near panic attack, assaulted and nearly killed by two terrorist, discovered that their watching me and might know that I'm not from Remnant, and now an awkward staring contest with a girl I helped and didn't expect to see again.

But at least this one was a lot more tame and manageable compared to the others, so that was something.

But that didn't mean I knew how to handle it '_This is...weird, and kinda awkward' _I'm not exactly sure what I should say to her, but I have a co-worker who needs help with the customers and a mother with her child waiting for things to move along, they take priority.

So making the decision quickly, I choose to direct myself to dealing with my job and source of income "I'll get clocked in right away" I answered Olive after breaking away from the staring.

The girl blinked at the suddenness of my statement "Uh...yeah, thanks" She said awkwardly, not that I blamed her, glancing at Ruby in confusion before she then proceeded to attend to the mother and son next to me.

I started walking and opening the door to the counter, I caught Ruby's distressed expression, making a reaching out motion as if hoping to talk to me-

"Later" I said, I'm not even sure if she heard it as I was moving to the back.

Also, what did 'Later' mean exactly? It was a half-baked response, too much going on at once for me to make a proper one.

I wouldn't be surprised if she left out of pure awkwardness of what just happened, I know _I_ would've.

But I didn't have much time to think on it as I got to work and served the customers, taking orders by writing them down on a notepad with a pen, delivering the food as quickly as I could.

I tried being being extra cordial today, and it was definitely difficult with the constant stream of customers and no breaks, but at the very least the customers were less unruly than they were on my first day.

Hours must have gone by, walking from table to table, I had helped clean up, picked up some dishes, and showed some kids with their family how to make a paper airplane. The parents left a nice tip. The work, while tiring, was an excellent distraction to any other thoughts I might have had.

"Excuse me sir" I paused at the voice of a man, I turned around-

_Deer antlers._

That was the first thing I focused on, a cold chill went down my spine as I recognized the man.

The ice cream vendor I met in the park "_We've been keeping an eye on you" _That vampire girl's words came to the forefront of my mind.

"Uh…" I was caught off guard, paranoia kicking in _'What is he doing here!? Is he watching me!? Is he with them!?' _Scenarios ran through my head on ways to escape..

'_Calm down!' _I ordered myself mentally, composing myself, I was still in the middle of a public area and not in any danger of being captured, they're terrorists, not stupid "Um...yes, sir?" I asked, masking my fear with the tone fitting of one that is in customer services.

He smiled kindly "Yeah, I thought I recognized you, how is it going?" He asked curiously, pointing to himself "You remember me, right? The ice cream vendor at the park"

"Yeah…" I wasn't sure how to respond to that, it seemed so casual compared to my line of thought, and it made me hyper aware, examining every detail around me to see if there was any danger "Um...fine, just...y'know, working" I said awkwardly, trying to remind myself that I'm in a restaurant.

"Ah, work is work right?" He chuckled "Its nice to see some kids getting work experience, don't see that a lot around here...speaking of kids, I take it you helped out that girl back at the park?"

I briefly wondered if I should even say anything to this man, so far he hasn't made any threatening moves, but the mention of Ruby did make me tense up "Um, yeah...I think she's doing better now" I said simply, pretending to rub my arm, but actually letting my hand brush over my hidden knives, taking comfort in the fact I'm armed "Why do you ask?" I asked cautiously.

He raised an eyebrow, pointing at something behind me "You didn't know? She's been sitting over there for over an hour at the very least, she seems to be waiting for something...or some_one_" He winked.

I blinked in confusion _'Huh?' _Momentarily forgetting my paranoia, I turned my head to where he was pointing. He was right, Ruby was sitting at a booth by herself, slowly eating a sandwich, and there were at least three other empty plates on the table.

Judging by the clock, it wasn't an hour, she's been here for almost _three_ hours, ever since I started my shift.

And the only thing I could think was '_Why?' _I mentally questioned in bafflement, and saw her pause from her eating after noticing my staring.

She awkwardly waved at me.

I blinked again, making sure I wasn't imagining it.

I wasn't, she was still waving.

'_Wait, possible terrorist is still talking to you' _I remembered, and turned back to the man just as he decided to speak.

"I wouldn't keep her waiting if I were you" He chuckled, apparently turning around "Anyway, sorry for taking up your time, I'll let you get back to work" He then walked away, taking off a check from his table and going to the counter, mumbling something about "Young love..."

I was dumbfounded, not moving _'Just...what?' _He just stopped to talk to me, and I'm not even sure if there was any hidden intentions or threats in it. I'm not sure what I was expecting…

A quick hello? An insinuation that I'm dating Ruby? That was definitely not on the list.

Was there something I missed? Am I overthinking this? I mean, its one heck of a coincidence to run into him here after being assaulted by White Fang terrorists, now he's here during my shift. And what's with Ruby eating here for almost three hours-?!

"Drake!" I snapped out of my thoughts at my manager's voice "C'mon, we got customers! Your not on break yet!"

I'm still on the clock, and I'm just standing in the middle of the restaurant like a dumbass "Sorry sir, on my way!" I quickly got back to work.

But as I worked, my thoughts persisted _'Okay, if that guy is part of the White Fang, what was he trying to accomplish?' _Probably just scouting, but I doubt he got any new information with those questions _'Or maybe he's not part of the White Fang at all and was just saying hello, but this is one hell of a fucking coincedence then, and I'm not taking chances if it is' _

There was nothing I could do about it at the moment but keep my guard up, I was safe for the moment at least _'Putting that aside, what about Ruby?' _I glanced at her table, she was still there, glancing back at me _'Is she...waiting for me to talk to her?' _

It was the only thing I could come up with, you don't just stay at a restaurant for over three hours by yourself for no reason _'Why doesn't she just ask for when I'm gonna get off then?' _It would be a lot more do-able to come by just before my shift is over.

Maybe because it was awkward to ask about that? She didn't strike as me as socially adept, not that I'm one to talk.

Glancing at her again, I made the decision to go talk to her on my upcoming break if she was still there by then _'Why does she want to talk to me in the first place?' _I had no solid ideas on that end, she could be just trying to thank me again, but I seriously doubt she would wait that long to give a simple thank you.

It wasn't long before it was time for my designated break, it was a lot calmer in the restaurant now so I could afford to take it "I'm gonna take my break now, you got this covered?" I asked Olive anyway just to be sure.

She looked back at me and smiled "Yeah, I got this, just got off mine anyway" She waved a hand dismissively "Go ahead, I'm fine"

Having the go ahead I took my hat off and clocked out for my fifteen minute break, and walked over to Ruby's table.

The red themed girl was playing on her scroll, occasionally making a "Hee-yah!" as she pressed a button that made a laser blast noise-

_Knock. Knock._

She immediately looked up at me when I knocked on the table, I took some amusement from her wide eyes at my appearance "...were you seriously sitting here for three hours just to talk to me?" I asked bluntly with a raised eyebrow.

Ruby was silent for a moment, looking anywhere but at me "...y-yeah" She said quietly, embarrassment present.

"You do realize you could of just asked when my break is or when my shift is done, right?" I asked rhetorically.

"..." She shyly looked to the side "...I-I tried to, but then I realized it was kinda a weird thing to ask…" So I was right.

I suppose it is, some girl asking about when an employee's shift ends could cause some misunderstandings. But still, to wait three hours...

Shaking my head, I sat down at the other side of the booth.

.

.

.

Awkward silence ensues.

I think I assumed too much when I thought she would start the conversation _'You were the one who wanted to talk to me, right?' _I think to myself, feeling uncomfortable.

"U-Um…" She spoke, twiddling her thumbs "Its...nice to see you again!"

Yep, that's what we're doing right now apparently "Yeah, you too…" And me being the anti-social bastard I am, went along with it.

"So, you got a job here?" She asked curiously, pointing at my uniform.

"Yep, got it yesterday" I answered, pulling at my name tag to solidify that fact.

"Oh, it pays well?"

"Its decent" Its not the highest paying job, but its enough to suit my needs.

"Cool" She nodded her head slowly, tapping her fingers against the table.

.

.

.

'_Ugh...I hate this, first I was assaulted, did hours of non-stop work, and now I'm having awkward silences with a girl I don't even know why is talking to me on my break' _The universe did not seem to want to throw me a bone today.

"Gah!" Ruby grunted all of a sudden, which surprised me, shaking her head while looking at me apologetically "I..sorry! This is weird...right?"

I couldn't help but agree "Yeah, it is" I admitted easily.

"I mean, we had no problems talking before, right? Its not like we don't know each other" She said as a matter of fact.

Well, I distinctly remember it being awkward at first, but afterwards it was fine, us both casually about our interests and such "...I think we can both agree neither of us are very social"

She lightly giggled "Yeah, I guess so"

I couldn't help a light chuckle, the awkward atmosphere slowly disappearing _'Well, that's a little better' _I briefly felt a spike of paranoia and glanced at the other tables and out the window, wondering if the ice cream vendor was watching, but didn't see any sign of him and relaxed "So uh, how are you doing?" I asked curiously, wondering how she was after that day.

"...better" She said, I could detect the hesitance in her voice easily, and she must have realized it too as she held up her hands and lightly shrugged "I mean, its not 'better' better, but it doesn't bother me as much"

"Those girls not bothering you?" I asked in slight concern, though I doubted they would actually mess with her if she was the sister of the most popular girl in their school. At least not directly.

"Um-no, actually, they pretend I don't exist" She cringed for a moment "Can we...not talk about them?" The ask for a change in topic was not unwarranted.

Probably shouldn't have talked about it so casually, I feel like a jerk now "Yeah, sorry…" I apologized sincerely.

"I-Its fine!" She assured "I mean, if they don't care about me, I shouldn't care about them and think about it, right?" Ruby smiled weakly.

That's more avoiding the problem than confronting it, but the fact that she's not letting it get to her too much anymore is a good sign "Yeah, that sounds right" I sighed "So uh, why did you want to talk to me anyway?" I asked, deciding to stop dancing around the question.

My break only lasted fifteen minutes, and at the rate we were going the question wasn't gonna be asked.

She seemed to freeze up for a moment, looking nervous "Oh-um...yeah, that!" It seemed like she momentarily forgot it herself "I guess I just...wanted to say thanks again, I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there, and...you really helped me out"

Well, it does make me feel a little good to know that she appreciates it, I don't just have a heart to heart with anyone.

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck "I guess having someone who went through that before talking to me helped…" She paused "Um, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened to you-?"

"I don't wanna talk about it" My answer was immediate, so quick to the point it made Ruby flinch.

"O-Oh, sorry…" She apologized meekly.

My strong gaze softened at the girl "...no, I'm sorry" I apologized with a sigh "I'm not trying to be rude or anything, I just...don't like talking about it, especially to people I barely know"

I've only known Ruby for barely a day, trust is earned to get that kind of information about me, and its definitely not done in a day.

"Oh, I get it" She seemed to relax a little "I guess it would be kinda uncomfortable for me too"

"Well, I guess you gathered I'm not the most trusting of people you'll ever meet" I shrugged, not really bothered by it, its just something that I've accepted was part of me, if I went through what I did and _not _hesitate from trusting someone, well, then something would be fucking wrong with me "Its not that I think bad of you or anything, its just a very private thing to talk about for me"

Ruby nodded in understanding "...but yeah, still, thanks...I really can't say that enough" She told me again.

'_Your getting a little overboard with the thanks now…' _It was starting to get uncomfortable, I was just trying to be a decent person and not leave her to cry in the middle of a park by herself "Look, its fine, I appreciate the thanks but all I did was hang out with you until you felt better"

"...it still meant a lot to me" Ruby pouted in annoyance with crossed arms, apparently not happy with how I worded it, trying to look angry but ending up looking cute instead.

I rolled my eyes a little, but it was still embarrassing to be told that "Was that all? Waiting three hours just to thank me again?" This girl sure was determined then, it would be both stupid and impressive at the same time, stupid for the reason it was done, impressive because of the amount of patience she had.

Ruby seemed to be embarrassed to be reminded of that again, but quickly composed herself "Um...yeah!" She said, tapping her fingers on the table again "And also, uh…I dunno if you would want to or not...but..."

'_Something else?' _I think to myself _'Does she need something?' _I wasn't sure what she could possibly want from me though. I just kept staring at her in confusion as she stumbled through her words.

"I mean-you don't have to, its totally your choice and everything, and it might be kind of weird to ask but-..." She completely stopped when she saw that I had no idea what she was talking about.

Ruby nervously looked down, taking a moment to herself, seeming like an eternity before she started take a deep breath and-"_Doyouwannahangoutagain_!?"

.

.

.

'_Huh?' _I questioned for the second time, her words went by really fast and I'm not sure I heard that right "...come again?" I asked clarification, wanting to make sure my ears weren't hallucinating.

Ruby seemed to calm down a little, but still looking up at me nervously, like she's mustering up some courage to say her next words "Do...do you wanna hang out again?" She said, at a much more normal speed this time- "N-Not like right now! Your obviously busy-but, like, maybe when your not busy?" She gave a hopeful look.

'_...is she serious?' _I thought to myself as she waited for my answer, being very surprised by the question _'I know I helped her and all, but..is that enough to warrant this?' _

Why did she want to hang out with me? Gratitude? Is she just trying to return the favor?

That would be troublesome, especially in my current situation. I don't need her feeling like she owed me something, and I didn't feel like she did.

"Look…" I awkwardly rub my neck, hoping to clear this up as soon as possible "You don't have to feel like you owe me anything or something, so-"

"N-No!" She immediately waved her hands profusely, stopping me mid-sentence "Its not like that...I just..." She paused for a moment before deciding on her next words "I had fun"

The amount of sincerity in her voice when she said that made me take a mental step back "What?" I asked, I was not ready for that.

"I-I had a lot of fun with you that day" She admitted with a shy smile, scratching her cheek "I can't remember the last time I had so much fun with someone, even after what happened, I still think it was one of the best times I had in awhile...and...I'd like to get to know you better" Ruby scrunched her shoulders up a bit "But...I-I don't know if you felt the same way, maybe you were just being nicer to help me…"

It was a silent question she made, and it seemed like she dreaded the answer.

Did I enjoy myself back then? When I look back on it I remember paranoia, worry, and concern for my well-being.

...but I also remember forgetting those problems, if only temporarily, when I walked around town with a red hooded girl. Just casually talking, a few jokes here and there, nothing dramatic and everything normal.

I usually hate talking to people, but I didn't hate talking to her, if anything I think it helped me deal with my current situation. Something else to focus on other than the utter insanity that is being sent to another world.

So if I were honest, I would say I did have fun, if even only a little. Just like her, its been a long while since I enjoyed hanging out with someone that much.

But that doesn't mean its a good idea to encourage her to be near me, I still have to be cautious as to those around me, and that's not to mention the big problem of the White Fang.

Is this safe for her? Hell, is it safe for _me_?

"Hey Drake" I looked to my left in surprise to see Olive "Your break almost up? Could use a bit help with the dishes here" My coworker asked as she pushed a cart of said dishes, being understaffed the place doesn't exactly have bus-boys.

My eyes automatically looked for a clock- _'Whoa, I only have a minute left' _I didn't even realize so much time had passed.

How much of that was just awkward silence or talking? _'Great use of a break Drake' _I thought sarcastically "I have a minute, I'll be with you soon" I said, and she glanced at Ruby before nodding in understanding.

I slowly move up out of my seat, Ruby was staring at me in uncertainty the entire time, I pointed towards the counter "Um...I have to get back to work" I said awkwardly.

She looked down to the table, her voice quieter "Oh...yeah, its fine" Ruby's face was crestfallen, refusing to meet my gaze.

And I felt like I just kicked a puppy. While my face was neutral, it wasn't a pleasant feeling to see her down like that.

'_Its probably for the best...right?' _I turned around, but didn't take a step forward, my feet locked in place _'C'mon, you've been over this, you were just assaulted after trying to help someone, don't give into your conscience now!' _

But that was thing, it wasn't just my conscience. And it wasn't the Remnant Knowledge or anything, but rather I felt like I was undoing the work I did. To help her get over what happened, only to ignore her later on was practically a spit in the face. To help her and then just turn my back...

And it wasn't even that I didn't want anything to do with her, but that I am trying to focus on my own safety, I don't know if I can trust anyone.

But am I taking this out of proportions? Its not like I should avoid all social contact (as tempting as it sounds) just to keep myself safe, is it too much to ask to just talk with her every now and then?

'_Am I playing it safe, or am I being paranoid?' _That was the question, and I briefly realized it was probably the latter. Its not like Ruby was a faunus, so she can't be a part of the White Fang, and no one is gonna come after me in broad daylight.

Not to mention the fact that if a huntress-in-training goes missing, they won't be able to cover it up. Her dad knows the Chief of Police and they would likely investigate it immediately.

Keeping all these facts in mind, there's also the chance that after a while she would just stop coming if it got too inconvenient, make new friends, and move on.

'_...I already talked myself into it, didn't I?' _I sighed, glancing back at Ruby, she didn't move to leave the booth, rather just kept looking sad and staring at the table, and it only made me more resolved to do this "Well…my shift ends at five-thirty" I commented casually, seeing her look up in surprise "I dunno if you have something else planned, but I don't mind continuing this conversation later if you come by"

"Um...s-sure!" The mood shift from sad to happy was instant, a bright smile and an excited look accompanied it "I'll be there!" She said enthusiastically.

I nodded "I'll see you then...and by the way, I'll probably be working here a lot over the week, so if you drop by you'll probably see me" I said before making my way back towards the counter.

It surprised me how happy that made her, but I quickly dismissed it as I checked in. I don't mind talking to her every now and then, it was unlikely it would be dangerous, and I doubted that she would come by too often anyway.

* * *

"_I was wrong" _I stated firmly into my phone _"I literally could not have been more wrong, she came almost EVERY day" _

"_She would come by and talk with my on my break, and go on a walk with me around town after my shift was over, the only time she didn't come by was apparently because she had to study for a test" _

I really didn't expect her to visit so often, but I can't say it really bothered me either. It was surprisingly dull throughout the week as I didn't have anything like school or something to keep me occupied, there's only so much I can read about Remnant , search for an apartment, or do legal paperwork before I get restless and need to step away from it.

And her weapon talks were very interesting, I've learned a lot about this planet's weaponry just from a week of talking to her, how it was apparently common now for huntsmen to have a mechashift function on their weapon.

'_Wow...I sound like an alien invader gathering intelligence' _I thought with amusement.

I continued _"But other than that there's nothing else to report, I'm planning on going to the Department of Patch-which is our equivalent of a state department- to get myself identification forms" _It was better to get that over with as soon as I could, right now I got a temporary paper identification they've given me, and was the reason I was able to get an apartment.

My phone beeped, I looked at the screen and saw the battery: _10%_

"_Battery's almost dead" _I stood up from the futon _"I have a place to live now, its time to get to work" _End log.

Setting my phone down on the table, I brought up the big box I was carrying and started sorting through it "Let's see here…"

I don't want to risk plugging my phone into the power grid in case something goes wrong, I'd rather test that out later with something less valuable. So for now I'll have to make my own power source.

Taking out some acetic acid, or vinegar as most people call it, I also took out some aluminum and copper I had bought at a hardware store. _'Time to make a battery' _

A chemical battery is composed of three things: A cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte. The basic idea of a battery is sticking two different metals inside of a solution and you'll have electricity.

One metal, the anode, loses electrons, while the other, the cathode, gains electrons. When placed in an electrolyte, the ions in said electrolyte react with the metals to produce an electric charge. The electrons from the anode want to go to a place with less electrons, the cathode.

The aluminum will act as the cathode and the copper as the anode in the battery I'm making, acetic acid makes for a decent electrolyte and should be enough for my purposes _'Not exactly a permanent solution, but it'll do for now until I can get more materials' _

It didn't take long to make it, pouring the acetic acid into styrofoam cups, putting a lid on it, and then poking holes through said lid to put the aluminum and copper strips in. I then took out a voltmeter from the box to test it.

A lot of Remnant's and Earth's measuring systems were the same, but at the same time some of it was different. Thankfully it wasn't too difficult to translate it over to my unit of measurements, but I found it odd how Ohms was called Oums here. Just a one letter difference, and I couldn't find anything on it with a quick search.

Shaking my head, I placed each probe on the positive and negative terminals "Hmm… one-point-two volts" That was better than I was expecting, but its not enough.

So I made five more, tested them, and once I confirmed they were producing voltage and current I connected them in series _'That should be around seven-point-two volts' _And a phone needs at least one amp to charge, and the requirement from that was proved to be met with a quick test from the meter.

"Moment of truth" I muttered, sincerely hoping this would work.

I scraped off the insulation of the cable-I can always fix it later- seeing four wires: Red, black, white, and green. I'll only need the red and black wires for this, connecting them together with the wires from my batteries...

A beep sounded from my device, and I saw the sweet _sweet _victory message of: _Battery is charging. _

"I'm a genius!" I smiled in victory, now I could just leave it off and let it charge for a while.

From what I gather, Remnant doesn't have a basic concept of chemistry like Earth does. It wasn't as bad as I originally thought, its not like they don't have any, they obviously study things like the chemical reactions of the human body, but its not pursued in the aspect of power or making materials-at least not without dust. Using different types of dust and mixing them together, and also using dust to mix different materials, and more uncommonly called 'Dust Chemistry', which was where the misunderstanding between me and Ruby came from when I explained it to her.

They're batteries don't even have regular chemical reactions, instead it uses a small amount of lightning dust, the material around it containing it and absorbing the charge to be used in everyday appliances, it still works like a battery circuit-wise, but the workings on how the electricity is made are completely different.

Don't get me wrong, dust is clearly a good and versatile resource, but this kind of over-reliance is practically ridiculous. It was kinda scary how reliant they are on it, I mean, what would happen if I introduced them to non-dust related resources?

_'The SDC would probably send assassins after me'_ I shiver at the thought, I have enough problems as it is without a corrupt company on my ass.

'_I think I'll follow the prime directive on this one' _I decided, it wouldn't do to interfere with a planet's natural development anyway...although it was nice to entertain the thought of being rich for a moment.

Looking down at the box again, I smirked deviously while rubbing my hands together, and began rummaging through it again, pulling out beakers, flasks, metal pipes, cotton, sulfur, baking soda, and household products I found with useful ingredients.

I held one of the pipes in my hand "This is gonna be fun"

I'll need to set up a lab table later for bigger experiments and more complex creations, but for now, let's just see what I can make.

When I'm done, I'll show the White Fang science the likes this world has never seen before!

* * *

**_Captaindrake123: Oh no! Someone gave Drake a bunch of chemicals and equipment!_**

**_Drake: Hehe boy… _**

**_Captaindrake123: Yeah, you probably guessed it with the 'statistics of life on alien worlds' and the chemicals he carried to go camping, and any other hints I gave you on the last chapter, Drake is a science nerd. Clearly not your typical glasses wearing 'I'm bullied a lot' nerd, but rather the nerd that can both kick your ass and make cool stuff._**

**_Drake will be using his Earth knowledge to his advantage, and I can't wait for you to see how he does it._**

**_Please leave a review, and any constructive criticism is appreciated. _**

**…**

**_What? _**

**…**

_**Ugh, fine, I spoil you guys you know that? Here's an omake.** _

* * *

**_Omake: An Older Sister's Concern_**

Ruby was hiding something.

That was very clear to Yang Xiao Long, her little sister was hiding something. Her dad had noticed too and just chalked it up as 'teenage girl' stuff, but Yang knew better.

Ruby never talks about her group anymore, whenever she asks Ruby what they were up to she just gives a plain answer like "Oh, it was fine" or "Nothing interesting"

She knew for a fact that her little sister was not talking to them anymore for some reason, that there was something bitter going on there from what she got from Ruby's expressions, and she tried talking to them herself once... but they ran away when they saw her coming near. It was beyond weird.

But what caught Yang's attention the most was the fact that her sister went out so often now, always looking excited as she went to leave, and she always gives an excuse like "Testing Crescent Rose's mods" or "Special training"

Yang didn't buy it for a second, because for one, sometimes Ruby would come home with ash on her face.

"What happened to you?" The blonde questioned, pointing at her sister's face as soon as she entered the door "You look like you stopped by a volcano"

"U-Uh…" She nervously whispered "Y'know, had some dust problems, hehe!" She laughed cutely, acting like she made an 'oopsie' mistake.

"Uh-huh…" Yang said slowly, not buying it, she knew her sister's tricks. But she let it go, because she also knew that asking about it wasn't gonna yield any results. She already tried that once, and Ruby immediately clamped up and denied anything before heading to her room.

'_What is she doing?' _There were a lot of guesses she made, but she dismissed them all _'What is so important she would hide it from me? Why is her group so distant from her now? Why is she going out so often?' _

But a thought came to mind that coincided with all she had seen '_...wait…' _She stopped, realization dawning her _'...does she...have a _**_boyfriend_**_!?' _

It all added up in her mind, yet another part of her couldn't believe it. Her own little sister entering a relationship and not telling her about it.

But from what she knows, it actually did make sense.

Distancing from friends? Check.

Going out very often with bullshit excuses? Check.

Keeping secrets from her protective older sister and father? Check!

She heard about the signs from school hundreds of times, seen them, and became distant from a few friends because of it herself.

Did her little sister get a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend?

She couldn't be sure, it could be something else, this was just guesswork after all and its not like she had actual proof, but if that _was_ the case…

Yang looked up towards the bathroom where was Ruby was washing her face while humming "I might have to pay a visit to someone" Yang muttered, reminding herself to load Ember Cecila later.


	7. Chapter 7 What Every Science Nerd Needs

_**Captaindrake123: Welcome back everyone, it's your captain here back for another chapter. Yes, I am aware I am late, life is like that sometimes.**_

_**Sixty-nine favorites and hundred-o-five followers, and over nine-thousand views. Wow, you guys seem to like this story a lot.**_

_**And I know I said that I would only respond to reviews every now and then, but, well…**_

_**I got so many reviews that I just might as well answer them now.**_

_**Clutchvm: I'm glad you like the story so much, and that you're enjoying the interactions between Drake and Ruby. I always felt like Ruby could use a bit more spotlight on her character, so you'll be seeing more of her for sure.**_

_**Jamisomersley: Ha! I got that reference! Yeah, Drake is a smart cookie, you'll be seeing a lot more of that. Quick note actually, most of the science stuff Drake does that I write in here will actually be applicable in the real world-but don't just do it based on this story, look it up first, I'm not in any way responsible if someone injures themselves because they didn't make sure they were informed properly.**_

_**ExS-DrIfTeRr: Thanks for the encouragement, really appreciate it.**_

_**MEMEDream: Just in case you didn't read the update notice before, my update schedule is basically whenever I need it to be, unfortunately I don't have the ability to commit to a real schedule at the moment, it's usually a chapter every two weeks but it's been a bit hectic lately. I **_**should **_**be able to update more frequently after this chapter though.**_

_**Logist: Thanks, I hope you enjoy this chapter too. Any constructive criticism is appreciated. I also don't mind people pointing out grammar mistakes just to let you all know, because I know they are here, and it actually helps me more than annoys me if you point it out. (Just don't make it the sole purpose of the review, that's what pisses most writers off).**_

_**Oliver Otter1: Yep, it's canon alright! Yang the overprotective sister is on the prowl, poor Drake, all over a simple misunderstanding too. I'll let you all know that unless I add a (non-canon) to the title, it will be canon.**_

_**The Inquisiter: Oh totally, he's DEFINITELY gonna be summoning demons (spoiler alert: He will unfortunately not). Though the Remnant Knowledge is less of a voice in his head and more of a supplier of information, it's still his voice talking, he just finds himself knowing things he shouldn't and it gives him a headache. So ...yeah, If I were you I would go with the psychic theory. Please put down the pistol though, I need my protagonist alive.**_

_**Guest: *Cue "That's RACIST!" meme* Lol, I find it funny how you remembered that German bit. And yeah Remnant has little knowledge of actual physical chemistry compared to Earth, much less chemical warfare. But you also have to consider Drake's mindset dealing with weapons like chlorine gas, where he's from, that is fucking BANNED by a restriction on chemical warfare, even if he's offworld those morals are still instilled in him. He would be very reluctant to even think about making the stuff for such a purpose as it could kill a lot of people.**_

_**But tear gas is fair game, he'll go for the throat.**_

_**Guest: I am somewhat familiar of Warhammer 40k, and he is lucky he didn't end up in such a place, but I don't think you quite understand the point of the situation he's in. RWBY, the webshow, does not exist on his Earth (RoosterTeeth might, I dunno, I might add it in). He's not some guy who was inserted into a show from his perspective, where it would be at least somewhat familiar to him, he's a guy on a completely baffling other world that seems to have similarities to his own. So it's not a matter of 'He's lucky he didn't get sent -**_**insert universe-**_**', it's that he's lucky to be alive at all, and the fact that he ended up on an alien world in the first place is unbelievable. It's not a dream come true or a worst nightmare, it's just life being a fucking dick.**_

_**Either that or you completely understand all that and just wanna say it could be a lot worse, which your not wrong. I kinda go off on a tangent sometimes.**_

_**Guest: Pfftt...Drake wouldn't make a Panzer and conquer Vale, that's just ridiculous! HAHAHAHA...hehe...hmmm…**_ _** ...how much was that ammunition again?**_

_**Alright, that's enough of that, I've kept you all waiting long enough.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 7: What Every Science Nerd Needs**_

It occurs to me that I am severely outmatched and that so far I've just barely scraped by.

As to what I mean by that, I'm talking about my dealings with the White Fang terrorists that I managed to escape from and was almost kidnapped by later on, all because of one simple variable…

Aura.

That strange energy field that protects a person and enhances the human body, in some cases it enhances it to absolutely _superhuman _proportions from what I've read. Generated from the person's-if I understand this correctly-very _**soul**__._

And thus, I have no idea how it fucking works. How the energy is generated, where it comes from-what even _is _a soul in scientific terms? The mind?

I don't know, but aura does exist and it is very much a problem for me. I was lucky that those two terrorists didn't have them, otherwise it might have turned out very differently for me.

Obviously it's not an all-answer magic bullet sort of thing, it's not perfect. It does not make you invincible, nor all powerful and mighty. But it does give you a big edge, one that I do not have and have no idea if I can obtain it.

Can Terrans have aura? No idea, but that's not the point of this tangent I'm going on. I'm not a huntsmen-in-training, so I'm not likely going to be able to unlock it anyway as there are laws in place to prevent such attempts. You can't have the ability to make someone superhuman and not have laws in place to control it, otherwise things would go down the drain from the sheer chaos.

No, my point is that the White Fang has an advantage that I do not fully understand, and that is a hurdle I'm going to have to combat against.

Turnabout is fair play after all, and fighting back with something they equally do not understand would be just as effective, using my own unique knowledge to give me an edge against them.

Remnant's sciences are similar, yet vastly different from Earth's if you set them side by side. But the main difference, and it's a _big _difference, is each world's understanding of the physical laws of the universe.

How such and such works with what, how it reacts with the other thing, what its limits are, how it does what it does, what's inside of it.

Compared to Earth's, Remnant's knowledge is laughably incomplete in many areas, and that would be because of their complacency and over-reliance on a single resource: Dust.

Dust is like a...shortcut, in a manner of speaking, with dust the people of Remnant have control over wind, earth, fire, ice, and other such 'elements' at their disposal from just a powdery crystal substance that's fairly easy, although dangerous, to obtain. Allowing them to make great machines, power sources, and tools much more conveniently.

However, in a way, it's also a hindrance to their progress. Their too damned reliant on it, and it's made them complacent in finding alternative solutions.

Just the other day I found out that Remnant doesn't have even a semblance of a space agency to speak of, because when they found out dust doesn't work in space... they just quit.

A few failed tests, disappointment, and they cancelled the whole thing.

Just. Like. _That_.

No one even _tried_.

They never went through the whole process, step by step to understand how everything works, not like Earth did.

We didn't have dust, we had to claw our way through progress with trial and error, gaining bits and pieces of knowledge each time. Mixing different materials together, heating up solutions, testing, experimenting, doing anything and everything to obtain control over those forces of nature and gain a glimpse of understanding how the universe works, and how to use it all to our advantage.

Science has always been something that's fascinated me, it wasn't that I was naturally gifted or anything, but my curiosity leads me to it, giving me a way to understand the universe around me that I so greatly wanted to know. I studied on my own time, performed experiments at home, and when I failed I got frustrated, fumed a bit, and then went back to it out of pure stubbornness and persistence, learning more and more at each attempt.

Chemistry, electricity, engineering, electromagnetism, physics, over the course of my teenage life I had studied much of these subjects, trying to learn every bit of it when I could, even when I had no idea what any of it meant at first, I kept trying and eventually got my glimpse of understanding.

Knowledge is_** power.**_

I know of things no one on Remnant has probably even heard of, which means there are no known methods of tracking it and leading it back to me, there is no known method to combat against it or prevent me from making more because they don't know how it works in the first place.

But for my strongest field, chemistry, in a world where many common chemicals I'm accustomed to is simply not used commercially, I have to make them from scratch.

But like hell that's gonna stop me, like I said, I'll find my way home no matter what, this is just one of the first of the many big hurdles blocking me from that goal, and I'll stubbornly climb up that wall in my way no matter how many times I fall.

* * *

First I have to take stock in what I have.

I pull out everything in the box, some of it including materials I had on me from my backpack.

Baking soda, aluminum powder, copper wiring, ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, vinegar, lemons, aluminum strips, charcoal, sulphur, and various other materials I was able to scrounge up.

For most chemists it would be easy to see one of the things I could make: Gunpowder. Potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulphur make gunpowder...but there's a problem with this.

I only have so much potassium nitrate, the only source of it I have at the moment was from my backpack, and it's not a lot. I can't make more of it right now as I don't currently have the equipment or materials needed to make more potassium nitrate.

Setting it at the other end of the table, I would use it for a later date for something I had in mind, it would use up all of my potassium nitrate though "What can I make right now that wouldn't be hard to consistently produce?" I asked myself, staring at the baking soda.

'_...sodium hydroxide' _I could make that from sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydroxide is a corrosive material that's very dangerous to touch, but has quite a number of uses back on Earth..

And what's more, I have most of the things I'll need for a chemical reaction. However, I don't have the appropriate equipment to make it.

But I _can _easily make something that would do the trick, but I'd need to go to the store to buy some containers...and while I'm at it, I might as well buy groceries and other things for...y'know, _living_.

So I took my wallet and headed out, went to a nearby store, bought a bunch of things that would be useful-had plenty of money on me after all the hours of work I took- and headed back to the apartment.

"Urgh…" I grunted as I carried the majority of large stacks of boxes and grocery bags on my arms, along with a sludge-hammer tucked in my right elbow "I might not have thought this through" I muttered, feeling the weight of the number of things I carried, the boxes blocking my view.

I bumped into someone "Hey, watch it!" They said in annoyance as they walked by.

"Sorry" I said a quick apology, not even looking at her, I was too focused on moving the ridiculous amount of mass my body has to carry.

Some people offered to help me, which I politely refused, this was a bit more personal for me in the sense that what's inside some of these boxes I am going to use for my own creations, I want to handle it myself.

It might sound a little weird, but my science projects are...private, I like to do them alone. Its _my _experiments, its _my _science. It sounds ironic to say I want to be a scientist when I don't like talking to people and getting feedback, but it is only for my own projects that I do in _my _time with _my _hard earned money.

So people can kindly fuck off with their opinions.

It's still _really _heavy though _'Oh thank the universe there it is!' _I mentally shouted in relief at the sight of my new apartment, struggled to carry everything up the stairs, and then set some things down so I could open the door with my key.

I brought in the groceries, grunting and my muscles begging for rest. It was a relief to set it all down, my muscles filled with fatigue "Ha...ha…" I steadied my breathing as I put the sledgehammer next to the door frame, I'll put it to good use later.

After putting all the food in the fridge, the silverware in the drawers, toilet paper in the bathroom, pots and pans near the stove, and the glassware in the cupboards, I think I can call this place ready to be lived in.

Now for the fun part.

I got out two big plastic containers, taking one of the pocket knives and cutting a hole into the side of one, and then the other, being careful and taking my time cutting into it to make a decent circle shape.

Taking out a small cylindrical plastic container, I measured it up with the hole "...good enough" I said flippantly, and then proceeded to cut off the ends of the cylindrical one, making it so both ends are open to connecting the two containers together.

Gluing it on would be difficult and just plain time consuming, so I'll go a step further and melt it on.

' _I can make just the thing that'll do the trick' _I smirked as I brought out a screwdriver in one hand with copper wire in the other _'Its laughably simple how easy it is to make a soldering iron with a little nichrome wire, copper wire, a screwdriver, and a battery'_

Luckily nichrome wire was available at one of the nearby hardware stores. I wasn't even sure if they would be on the shelves, but this makes it easier on me so I'm not complaining.

Taking some insulating tape, I wrapped around the bottom part of the screwdriver and moved up, leaving the tip exposed. Then I proceeded to wrap the nichrome wire around it, leaving the ends sticking out the side for me to wrap the copper wires to "Perfect, now I just need a power source…"

I was about to reach into the box, but then a thought comes to mind _'...is my phone done charging?'_

Setting down the screwdriver and wire, I walked over to the coffee table my phone was on, and then picked up the cellular device.

_100%_

"Hell yeah" I couldn't help the smile on my face, the vinegar batteries worked perfectly the whole time I was gone.

Now let's see about repurposing them.

I brought them over to the kitchen on the floor next to the plastic containers, connecting the series of vinegar batteries to the copper wire, and saw smoke coming up from the screwdriver.

'_I am literally macgyvering my way through all of this' _I chuckled a little, definitely feeling like the resourceful man as I worked. Seeing the smoke dying off, I then began to place the red hot tip over the plastic cylinder end, the plastic didn't take long to begin to melt _'Can't get too nuts with the heat though…go slowly…'_

Once it was all melted on, I disconnected the wires and just let the containers sit as I get up to go prepare the next step: Vegan gelatin.

...yeah, it sounds weird, but it'll all make sense in a minute...maybe.

Taking out a glass cup, I mixed the gel material with some water, stirring it up, and then putting in the microwave "That will make it hot enough" I mumbled to myself, thinking of the next step.

Checking on the containers, I pushed on the tube between them to see if it hardened, and sure enough it did "Alright, looking good, now all I need is the gel"

And sure enough, the microwave beeping after the time was up, I opened it up and tried to grab the glass-"Ow! Hot! Hot! That was stupid!" I shook my hand to wave off the burning sensation.

Waiting for it to cool down, I decided to prepare the next step by putting some tape on one side of the plastic tube between the containers, it'll make it easier to pour the gel in.

Once it cooled down, I lifted up the containers and carefully poured it in. The gel will solidify in a few minutes, but I am essentially done.

Now as to what I am done with, that would be an electrolysis membrane set-up. It allows for a more complex electrolysis, chemical reactions by passing electricity through it, the 'membrane' being the gelatin and keeping other ions out from interfering with the desired product.

Say, if I were to just run electricity through water with baking soda, it would not give me sodium hydroxide, it would just give me hydrogen and oxygen. The sodium won't react with it because of other components in the solution.

I'm going to pour distilled water on both sides, with one adding baking soda into it, the gelatin separating them, but when I run an electric current through it the gelatin will also conduct electricity to the other container's water, allowing a chemical reaction to take place by moving the desired ions into the other bucket, while keeping other ones out.

Basically, pour distilled water on both sides with baking soda in one, put powered electrodes in each side and you'll get sodium hydroxide in the container without baking soda.

...now I just need distilled water.

'_And I couldn't find the shit anywhere' _I groaned, knowing I'll have to make the stuff myself, and I proceeded to do just that. Pouring into a pot some tap water from the sink, I put into a glass bowl inside of the pot and place it over the stove, and then turned it on.

"Talk about a pain in the ass, but I guess it technically saves money" I sighed, this part would take a while as I needed to wait for it to boil. I got out some ice and put on the pot's lid _'The steam from the water will hit the cold lid, condense it back into water and drop said water into the bowl, leaving behind no impurities'_

It would take a bit before I could make enough though, so when it started boiling I put the lid on top of the pan and went out into the living room with another box, all I had to do now was wait before refilling the pot.

'_Be patient' _Of course it was gonna take some time, I'm making almost everything from scratch, but it didn't mean it didn't frustrate me how I needed to wait _'I'm used to this, making stuff out of what you have...just this time around it's even more... less'_

There's been a few times back home I couldn't buy what I needed to make something, had to make those things myself with a few tricks I learned online.

Dad called it being 'resourceful', he sometimes makes a joke about how we're both nerds…which we are, and proud of it, he's the one who got me into Star Trek in the first place, starting from the very first episode that was from the sixties. We'd go into the basement, open up a couple of ice-cold glass cokes and watch it on the big screen TV.

I chuckled at the memories coming back to me _'Damn, what I wouldn't give for a glass coke right now…and just to seem him...and mom...and...'_

.

.

.

I miss them, I missed all of them. It dawns on me again just how long I've been gone, it's been almost two weeks since I've been whisked away to this crazy world full of people with superpowers and terrorists with animal parts.

Are they worried about me? Do they think I'm dead?

There's an uncomfortable tightness in my chest that won't leave. No matter how hard I try to stop it, my mind always leads me back to the fact that I am away from everything and everyone I love.

'_Stop...just...just stop thinking about it' _I take a deep breath, hold it, and released it _'I can...I can work on getting the electrodes' _Something to do, something to distract me, good.

After taking a moment to calm myself, I opened up the box I carried with me and pulled out some lantern batteries I found on sale.

While they didn't work the same way as the ones on Earth, and therefore don't carry most of the same materials, one thing that doesn't change is that the battery needs an electrode to allow the electricity to conduct through.

Taking out a pair of pliers, I twisted at the top of the lantern battery "C'mon…" I muttered, hearing a _clink_ and slowly twisting it out "Alright, there we-

_BZZZ!_

"GAH!" I dropped it and spazzed out on the futon for a second _'Oh-FUCK that hurt!' _I shook my hand and glared at the battery, seeing a blue powdery substance sticking to some of the electrode…

'_...oh yeah, dust' _Right, the magical powder that controls nature, gotta be careful with that.

Glaring at it again, I sighed and wondered how I should dispose of it "...maybe I can just put it in a jar? Something tells me that's not safety regulation, but I don't have a lot of options at the moment"

Carefully pulling off the electrodes as to not have another shock attack, I _very _carefully poured the lightning dust into the jar, surprised by how much it had "...I'll save this for later" I put the lid on it, taking it over to the kitchen and setting up on the table.

I didn't know enough about dust yet to go and try messing with the stuff, but it is something I would be interested in at a later date. Who knows what this stuff can do...

The distilled water was done, I poured the water into a jug, and then proceeded to refill it again for another round.

Once I got all the distilled water I needed, I poured the rest of them into the containers "Alright then, finally done" I muttered, taking the baking soda and pouring it on one side, and then stirring it.

The vinegar batteries I had connected in series would be needed again, I attached them to the electrodes "Now…" I placed them into the solutions "I can just let it sit"

I can see faint bubbles from it, it was working, but it would take a bit for it the solution to become more conductive and fully start the reaction, an hour or two to complete, but at least in this case I can leave it alone without having to keep tabs.

Which means I'm free to head out again.

Standing up from the set, I pulled on some gloves "Alright, time for a little exploring" I walked towards the door, grabbing my sludgehammer and placing it over my shoulder.

If I'm going to make a lab to make different materials or gadgets from my world, I would need to find spare parts to make it.

'_Let's see if I can't find a junkyard' _I opened the door-

I paused at the sight of Ruby Rose in a mid-knock motion with a colorfully wrapped package underneath her elbow.

"..."

What?

* * *

"So this is where you live?" Ruby said, curiously looking around the room as she bounced a little on the futon "It's kinda small"

"I don't need much space, I'm the only one living here" I said passively as I poured some milk in one of my new cups "Hot chocolate?"

"Yes please!" She chirped.

I poured another cup and put both of them in the microwave.

Now, why am I allowing Ruby into my new apartment and making her hot chocolate?

I had many conflicting feelings on letting her in, especially since I decided to take the prime directive to heart and not show off my knowledge-and there being an entire chemistry set up right on the kitchen table _kinda _violates that rule.

But she came to visit me and give me a house warming gift, I may not be a very social person but I have fucking manners, I wasn't just gonna tell her to leave, and just like Sheldon Cooper would say: When you have a guest, you offer them a hot beverage...or was that when someone was upset?

Whatever, besides, I already showed her that I knew different things with that showmanship at the arcade, damage is already done.

I seriously didn't expect her to come to visit though-I should probably just _stop _doing that because expecting things about her clearly doesn't work- but I don't remember mentioning specifically where I was going to live, so it kinda baffles me how she's here now.

"How did you find this place anyway?" I asked, showing my confusion, grabbing the two cups and walking over to her _'I know I didn't tell her where I lived, so how did she find it?'_

She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly "Wellll...I just saw you carrying a bunch of stuff from a grocery store and sort of followed you a little-not creepily! I just thought you would need help, but you already made it to the apartment"

'_That...makes sense, I guess' _I wasn't exactly very aware of my surroundings at the time, having mountains of groceries and things to carry _'But that doesn't really explain what you were doing there in the first place'_

"And what exactly is the gift you got me anyway?" I decided to ask instead, figuring she wouldn't answer anyway.

Ruby perked up at the change of topic, holding out the box to me "Go ahead! I think you'll like it! I wanted to get you something, y'know, a good old 'Welcome to Patch'!"

I raised an eyebrow at her awkward babbling, but took the gift carefully, unwrapping it-

Blinking at the sight of the magazine with a bunch of strange looking weapons on the front, I looked down at Ruby "Uh...what's this?" I asked in confusion, glancing back down at the cover.

"Its my favorite weapon's magazine!" She chirped happily, turning the page in my hand "You were pretty interested in my 'weapon talks'" She seemed pretty happy about that "I thought you might want to see other ones!" She laughed awkwardly "Its not exactly standard for housewarming gifts but uh...I thought you might like it"

'_Interesting' _I think, flipping through it momentarily _'Rifles, cannons, grenade launchers, warhammers, wow these people can't settle on one thing, although a lot of them look pretty cool-...' _I stopped at a baffling picture.

Is that...a fucking _tumba?_

It was... like...spitting fire out of the tube as the guy blew into it.

'_What the actual fuck?' _I think Ruby noticed the disgruntled expression on my face, walking up to my side to look down at the page, and then frowned too.

"...we don't speak of that one" She said grimmly "I mean, its not even practical! Just lugging it around and making it hard to move!"

'_That's not the problem Ruby…' _I sighed as I shut the magazine closed, not wanting to stare at that bit of insanity any longer "Well, thanks I guess, it does actually look interesting" Might give me an idea of what weapons the White Fang have as well, just in case.

"Y-Yeah! Your welcome!" She smiled brightly "I was actually thinking maybe we could celebrate or something-that's what you do with a new place, right?" Ruby asked, as if nervous to be incorrect.

A housewarming party?

I stare at her blankly "...you do realize it would just be the two of us, right?" I asked incredulously.

Her eyes didn't meet mine "...it would still be fun" She tried with an awkward shrug.

I don't know what goes through this girl's head.

"It's not happening" I stated firmly, and she looked a little disappointed with a frown on her face.

Not only would I find a party tiresome, but I'm just...not comfortable with it. I'm not much of a party person-hell I'm not even a _people _person, and I doubt I ever will be.

"Sorry, but I just got this place, don't need it to become a mess" I told her, walking over to the sledgehammer "Anyway, I got stuff to do, so if you could…" I gestured to the door wordlessly.

'_Go on, leave so I can do sciencey things'_

Ruby slumped a little "I-I mean, it doesn't have to be here…" She tried again "We could go to the arcade-oh, wait" She realized her mistake quickly "...uh...the comic book store!"

I shake my head for negative "No, I'm busy doing…" I hesitated for a moment before saying it "...science experiments, I've been meaning to do them for a while"

Mainly to see what I can and can't make on this planet, what materials that I cannot make or are simply not around on this world.

I need to know what I can do before I even think about making something to incapacitate a White Fang terrorist. So these experiments are necessary.

"Really?" She asked in surprise, her eyes glancing around the room, landing on the table with the membrane set-up "Oh! Cool! Can I help you?" She asked immediately.

I blinked slowly, and then made to deny her request-

"I mean, I don't know much, but I would like to help!" She saluted to me "Science assistant Ruby Rose, reporting for duty!"

.

.

.

Is...is she that dead set on spending time with me? I feel a little flattered, yet at the same time I'm uncomfortable.

It's not that it is new from her, she did after all came by almost every day to speak with me, often making attempts to get to know me better. Nothing big, just small questions like what my favorite color is, or what animals I liked, or my favorite foods… all I didn't mind answering, but whenever it came to more personal details I evaded them.

She's clearly making attempts to get closer to me, and I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that. Especially in this instance, trying to be part of something I consider private.

I just deadpan at her, rubbing my nose with a sigh "...look Ruby" I sighed again, unsure of how to say this "...you know how you say your weapon is your baby?"

She blinked "...um, yeah, I put my heart and soul into her" Ruby smiled a little "It's like it's a part of me: Weapons are better than people!" She paused "Uh-I mean-not that your not cool or anything, I mean-"

"And how would it feel to just show her designs to someone you barely know?" I interrupted her before she could babble on about how she didn't mean to insult me when I already know she didn't in the first place.

Ruby paused, considering the question, and her face beginning to cringe "...well, I guess it would be really uncomfortable for me, I mean...I put everything into Crescent Rose, I wouldn't just show that to anyone"

I took a moment to look over her, my comment on showing off all of Crescent Rose's workings displaying just how much the mere thought bothered her with the twiddling of her hands together.

"That's how this feels to me" I pointed over to my experiment on the table "That? I made that, with my time, my money, and _my _knowledge" I paused at my irritated tone, trying to remind myself not to get so defensive over this, I know she didn't mean any harm by it "I put my heart and soul into stuff like that, it's my creations...and it's private" I finished much more evenly.

"...oh" She said in surprise, glancing at the boxes and things "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to intrude on that-"

"No" I sigh " It's fine Ruby, you literally could not have known that, I'm not gonna blame you over something you just didn't know" I waved it off "I'm just trying to explain it properly"

Why am I so private about this? That would be because I do not have good dealings with showing it off, some insult it, some destroy them, and many others just don't care. My time, my money, my knowledge, it's mine. No one gets to intrude on something that I consider very important to me.

Not like a lot of people back home cared enough to know anyway nowadays, except maybe the few rarer ones accusing me of making bombs. Fucking assholes...

"Sorry, I just don't know you well enough to be comfortable with it" And it honestly feels like she's budding herself in, coming to my house unannounced.

But then again it's not like I have scroll for her to call to ask to hang out or something. I might just need to get a scroll eventually, make a phone plan and everything.

"I think I understand" Ruby said honestly, but still looking disappointed, she began walking over to the door, stopping to look back at me "Um...maybe tomorrow we could do something?" She asked hopefully.

I paused to think about it "I'm...actually probably gonna be working on something tomorrow too" I said honestly, the lab I'm making isn't gonna be made in a day. "But maybe some other time?"

"O-Oh…" She said disappointedly, rubbing the back of her head "Then I guess I'll just...see you later?"

"Yeah…" I replied awkwardly, not sure exactly what to say.

Why does she have to look so sad and disappointed? This uncomfortable feeling of guilt settling in my chest is annoying as hell.

'_I'm not gonna encourage her to be around me anyway, I'm trying to go home' _I think to myself, but I still feel like I'm blowing her off.

...maybe I am, if I'm being honest with myself. I don't mean to hurt her, but at the same time I don't want her getting too close.

But just as she put her hand on the knob, an idea came to mind.

'_Hold on...would she know where a junkyard is? She does know this place better than I do, she's lived here all her life' _It would save a lot of time and effort if she could tell me, and knowing her she would probably just lead me to it if she did.

To be honest, I want to get this lab done as quick as possible for the reason as the quicker I can get some serious work done, the quicker I can find a way to get back home.

Besides, she's damn insistent on spending time with me anyway, might as well take advantage of it. Maybe she could help me gather the parts I need, but it's not exactly what most people would consider 'hanging out'.

The worst that could happen is she shows me where it is and then leaves because she doesn't want to rummage through junk.

"Wait" I said, just as she opened the door.

She looked back at me, surprised silver eyes meeting mine.

"You uh…" I considered the implications of my next sentence, unsure if I'm making the right call on asking her or if it's even a good idea in the first place...but she hasn't done any harm yet, and I don't think she would just run off to tell someone what I'm doing anyway.

Yet I'm still hesitant. All of that leans towards more progress being made, but other than the paranoia of being discovered...I just don't like asking for help if I'm being honest, I usually do things on my own for stuff like this, even if it's more time consuming.

But if it means getting a lab done quicker...I gotta push that aside for now.

'_Bite back your pride' _I think to myself, I'm not able to stand on my own just yet, just one more step "I'm uh...sorry, there is actually something you could help me with now that I think about it, if you still wanna help that is?" I asked hesitantly.

"Really?" She asked turning to look at me with a smile, she seemed all too ready to help, all too eager.

It made me feel uncomfortable, but I bite that back as well "I still need the parts to make everything I need, so...if you don't mind, could help me with that? I need spare parts from like, say, a junkyard…"

Ruby's smile only grew bigger, that was all the answer I needed.

.

* * *

It took almost an hour, but Ruby had led me to the place. I've never actually been to a junkyard before, but I do know how they generally work since I have considered visiting one back home for parts a few times, but I ended up not needing to.

I stared at the fenced area in front of me, sledgehammer over my shoulders "This is place, huh?" I asked curiously.

"Yep!" Ruby shouted to me, she walked up to the gate entrance "It's not a big place, but I can always find something here that I can use"

I followed her through, looking at the place curiously, different parts and junk laid about; Cars, pipes, tools, wires, and other spare parts and pieces all organized in different sections.

_Perfect._

There were a few appliances I specifically wanted, or rather the parts in said appliances.

One of the workers came by, probably after noticing us looking around "Well hello there! What can I do for you all?"

"Do you know where I can find some broken microwaves?" I asked immediately, that was the first thing on the agenda.

Both Ruby and the worker looked confused.

I simply smirked.

Once he showed me to the area of broken parts, he brought out three broken microwaves and I asked him how much for them. They were all rusted, their doors cracked, and clearly haven't been used in a long time.

"Around eighty lien, they are very old and no one's wanted them" He said to me, lightly kicking the side of one "Things are busted anyway and I was planning on getting rid of them sooner or later"

"I'll take them" I agreed, handing him the money, and then lifting the sledgehammer over my head-

_SLAM!_

"What the hell!?" The man yelled as I suddenly smashed into it.

"Swear!" Ruby automatically shouted.

Looking up at him as I held the hammer, I allowed another small smirk "I only need the parts inside" I said, I then turned to Ruby, gesturing to the microwaves with my free hand "Wanna help me smash them open?"

She stood still in surprise for a moment, but then nodded enthusiastically with a big goofy smile.

_SLAM!_

_WHACK!_

_BAM!_

"Careful with the back side! That's where the good stuff is!" I shouted to her as I smashed off the door, and then readied the sledgehammer like a gulf club and _rammed _it into the microwave's side.

"Got it!" Ruby shouted back "HIYAH!" She whacked it with a big metal pipe she picked up.

I technically don't need to do this, I could easily just unscrew the casing…

But this is way more fun, and quite the stress reliever.

When the backside of my microwave popped open I pried the rest it off fairly easily with a bit of muscle, I looked into the inner workings of the piece of Remnant equipment "Hmm...seems to work like one back home" I muttered quietly.

Looking through the circuitry connecting to the main part of the microwave, the magnetron. It is definitely familiar, although the magnetron itself does look to be different judging by it's shape.

There were a few other things I didn't recognize, but the basics were all there, especially what I wanted the most.

Ruby came to look over my shoulder curiously "What are you looking for?" She asked as I put on my insulated gloves.

"The transformers, mostly" I stated as I took out my pliers "But first I need to discharge the capacitor"

Even when not plugged in a microwave can be dangerous to take apart, even after a long period of time, the capacitor holding enough power to kill you if you don't discharge it.

I place the tip of the pliers on the top of the capacitor-

_Bzzt!_

"Done" I said nonchalantly, throwing aside the pliers, and proceeded to rip out all the parts. Ruby seemed to be surprised by the shock "You just have to discharge the microwave before you touch it is all" I answered her unsaid question.

"Oh…" Ruby muttered quietly, looking at the inside of it curiously.

I take out the parts I want and shoved them into my bag, but hold up the transformer itself for a moment to examine it "These things sure will be useful with how much power they'll give, I could make an arc welder with this... that could also be used for metalworking, maybe I can try to make a little metalworking station-"

A small giggle reaches my ears.

I stopped in mid-thought, looking at Ruby in confusion, seeing that she was covering her mouth with her hands "...what?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

She smiled knowingly "You really like this stuff, don't you? "

I blinked slowly, and realized I was saying all that out loud "...yeah" I said somewhat sheepishly, just shoving the parts in my bag. It's been awhile since I've had the chance to really do this stuff again…

It seems like it's been a long time, at least to me, but so many other things happened and other priorities came first. That's why I'm so glad that I've reached this point, other than helping me find a way home...it's also familiar and fun to get back into science.

"I-It's not a bad thing!" Ruby suddenly appeared in front of me as I stood up, waving her arms around in a panic "I-I think it's actually pretty cool!"

'_...cool?'_

My confusion must have been evident on my face, because she went to explain "I uh, mean...it's cool how passionate you seem to be about it" Ruby said, pointing to the bag "It's uh...kinda like me with weapons actually, I get really into it and sometimes I can't stop talking and I annoy people-not that your annoying! It's actually really interesting-I'm annoying you right now aren't I?" She asked nervously.

'_Not so much annoying as confusing' _"...I think I get what you mean" I said hesitantly, turning around to walk over the other microwaves, and then paused for a moment "And...thanks, I guess"

No one's ever said that before.

'_Huh_' I thought idly before crouching and collecting parts again.

Ruby seemed to perk up and rejoin me in collecting parts, and as we worked a question came to mind from her talking about passion "Do you come here a lot?" I asked her.

She looked up from collecting wires "Uh, yeah actually!" Rubbing the back of her head, she glanced around, pulling at her cape from the fabric getting caught on something "I usually come here for spare parts for little projects I work on, y'know?"

"Really?" I asked curiously, inspecting a piece of cable, judging it good enough to use and put it in the bag "What kind of projects, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, uh, like different weapons" She says, bringing the bag she had over to me, I look into it and pick out the bad parts to chuck them aside, I didn't recognize them anyway "Sometimes I make guns, other times maybe a sword, mostly I just make new mods for Crescent Rose, I just like tinkering with the weapons to see what I can do"

That's actually similar to what I did back on Earth, I just test something to see if it works, mixing different chemical agents, just trying to make what I can...just to _see _if I can.

But I don't just stop at what parts I need, I see if I can _make _those parts. I wanted to know what they did, how they were made.

"I actually do that a lot too" I paused, realizing I said that out loud, Ruby staring at me curiously as I try to form proper words "I-uh...back home I usually did a lot of experiments, to see what I can make, what works with what" I explained as I carried the bag over, seeing no more parts that I could make use of.

"What kind of experiments?" She asked curiously.

"Chemistry experiments mostly, mixing different solutions together to see what happens, distilling liquids, putting an electric current through a mixture" I paused, looking up at the sky "Some of them could have been explosive or corrosive if done wrong" I also did some electrical ones and engineering on the side, but they were far less frequent.

She looked a little concerned "Sounds dangerous" Ruby commented.

Shrugging, I walked over a piece of metal "I always take safety precautions though, I take that stuff seriously" My parents wouldn't take anything less.

"Maybe you can show me sometime?" She asked, then hesitated "Um...only if you want to" Ruby added, clearly trying not to offend me.

'_...well, if she's interested' _It's not like I can do anymore damage than I already did "Maybe" I said simply- I stopped and stared at the metal glint ahead.

'_...is that…?'_

Ruby stopped at my side "Drake…?"

A large metal table, it was long but not too wide…

I walked towards it, wiping off some of the dust on it "...this could work" I muttered, I needed a table to put all my beakers and equipment, it's one of the reasons I came here. This one was quite dirty but...a little bit of water sprayed, soap, scrubbing, and elbow grease and it would be good to go.

"I want this table" I stated bluntly, not expecting to find a good table this soon, and was ready to settle for a crappier one, but I'm _definitely _not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

"Someone's got a good eye" I snapped my head over my shoulder in surprise, apparently one of the workers came over "That table is stainless steel, nice and sturdy"

"Why was it thrown away then?" I asked as I went back to examining it-"Oh, one of the legs is too short" I noted, that would probably be why. A bit strange considering it's made of metal though, probably a production error.

"I hate those tables, always so wobbly" Ruby commented "But you could put a book under it"

True, it's not exactly a difficult thing to work around, some guy probably just got annoyed with it and dumped it here for some cash "How much for it?' I asked.

"Eh, how about...seventy lien?" He asked.

I blinked slowly "That's...fairly low for a table like this, even if it is from a junkyard"

The old man smiled kindly "Eh, your a friend of Ruby, she comes by around here pretty often, and I can tell you have a good eye for things of value...or at least know what _can _be valuable" He said cryptically "so consider it a discount"

But I was stuck on one word he had mentioned _'Friend…?' _I think for a moment, glancing at the girl in question, who was thanking the man, and seemingly oddly happy _'...I dunno about that'_

I've tried making friends before, it never exactly...ended well, _at all_. Nowadays I'm very hesitant to call someone a friend, and for good reason.

"_Your just some stupid loner from school!" _Fucking assholes, the brief memory made me scowl a bit, but I quickly hid it.

Not to mention the fact that Ruby might just be hanging out with me because of what happened with those girls, as a sort of 'rebound' friend. But it's hard to tell.

'_But I am getting a discount out of it...ugh, whatever, just pay the guy' _Ignoring the nagging feeling in my head, I pulled out my wallet and counted the money...wait a minute.

'_Fuck! I'm ten dol-lien short!' _I corrected myself mid-thought, frustrated that even with the discount I couldn't pay for it.

"Um…" I said hesitantly, getting their attention "I only have sixty lien, you wouldn't happen to be able to drop it lower could you?" I asked as politely as I could, scratching the back of my head with what I am most utterly certain is an awkward smile.

The old man scrunched up his face "...no, sorry, that's as low as I can go, need to make a profit after all...but I can hold onto it for you at a later date" He said diplomatically.

Well, it's kinda disappointing but I guess I can't expect it to be that easy, so I nodded in thanks for his offer "I understand, alright then-"

"Here!"

My eyes widened in surprise at Ruby's outstretched hand with ten lien to me, the colorful currency staring at me in the face all so temptingly "...I...no" And I pushed it away.

Only for it to be shoved back at me, Ruby looking up in defiance "Take it!" She offered again.

My experiments, my time, my money. I'm not taking her money. Plus I would feel bad for taking it, like I'm using her...which I kinda am, but not in a wrong kind of way like I'm leaching off her, but taking that money would _make it_ wrong though "Ruby, it's fine, I'm not gonna take your money-"

"Your not taking it, I'm giving it to you" She retorted stubbornly, her silver eyes looking resolute "You want that table right? For your important sciencey stuff? I don't mind"

I looked down at her in annoyance, crossing my arms "My time, my knowledge, my money...I won't accept it if I didn't earn it" I stated.

Was it dumb? Yeah, I can recognize that. But I have fucking pride, especially in my own creations, everything I made I had done so out of my hard earned money or labour. I wanna look at it and think: '_This is mine, I made this myself'_

Ruby looked absolutely flabbergasted, sputtering on her own words "I-well-..." She balled up her hands up for a moment and glared at me in frustration.

I shrug at her, not really caring.

Her eyes glanced to the ground, as if looking for a reason "W-Well…" Suddenly her eyes lit up, and pointed her finger at me "You _did _earn it!"

'_...huh?' _I stared at her, baffled "What are you talking about?"

Her face held a victorious grin "You bought me lunch when we first met, remember? So I owe you! And this is technically _your _money now!"

'_I did?' _I thought to myself, trying to remember, and then recalled paying for her meal at Patch Delight _'Oh...yeah, I guess I did, but does that really count?'_

"But I offered to pay" I pointed out, raising a finger "I didn't expect anything in return"

"Well-I don't care! I'm repaying you!" She said stubbornly, shoving it into my hand. Ruby made me fully clench my fingers around it, looking up at me seriously "Just...just take it, okay?"

.

.

.

"You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?" I asked bluntly.

Ruby's mouth curved into a wide smile "Nope! " She popped the 'p'.

'_Why do I feel like that's gonna be a running gag?' _I sighed tiredly, even if I technically paid for her lunch and just getting it back, it feels...cheap. "A compromise, I'll pay you back ten lien later" I wouldn't say I asked, more like I stated it.

Ruby must have recognized that, but she looked annoyed, her face making a pout "...fine, deal" But she relented and took her hand away "It's just ten lien…" She grumbled grumpily.

"Pft…" My head, along with Ruby's, snapped up to the old man's snickering at us.

My shoulders tense up _'... he was there the entire time' _That's fucking embarrassing, and apparently Ruby thought so too since she refused to look away from the ground.

"Ah, sorry, it's just been a while since I've seen two good friends arguing" He chuckled lightheartedly.

There he went with the 'friends' thing again, but I guess from his perspective it would look like a friendly spout "Y-Yeah…anyway, I guess I apparently do have the money now, so…" I hesitated for a moment, taking a moment to recognize that I'm going to owe someone, tried to talk myself out of it, failed to resist the temptation of a new table to work on, and then handed him the money along with Ruby's ten lien "Here you go"

"Thank you sir" The old man looked over my shoulder for a moment "But how do you reckon you'll move it? You got a ride waiting? We can move it in for yah"

I shook my head "No, I can carry it" Besides, I could use some exercise to burn off those calories I've gotten from the extra food at Patch Delight. Can't have myself getting out of shape, especially if I plan to take on terrorists.

"R-Really?" He asked in surprise as I walked over to the table and folded the legs under it.

I then proceeded to pick it up, it had some heft to it for sure, but I could carry it in my arms "Alright, I got everything I need, thank you" I thanked politely _'Let's see how long I can carry this for without a break'_

And with having a few goodbyes, me and Ruby and me exited the junkyard with more things for me to tinker with than when we entered. We walked back towards my part of town together, me carrying most of the stuff we had gotten.

"Are you sure your okay?" Ruby asked, looking over at me carrying everything "You got a lot, y'know?"

"Good exercise" I responded, huffing a little as I shifted the weight to my other arm to ease my left one "Been getting a little lazy lately, I didn't get my physique by doing nothing"

I've actually been feeling kinda antsy lately, back home my family...well, most of them were muscle heads, me included. Half of us have exercise equipment in our rooms, and I've been starting to miss my pull-up bar.

"Hehe…" Ruby giggled lightly, making me look at her curiously "You kinda sound like my sister, she's a bit sensitive about her weight"

'_Her sister huh?' _I nearly forgot she had one, but I briefly remember her sister was part of the reason why those girls manipulated Ruby, although probably not intentionally on her part. It doesn't seem like there's anything bitter between them "Eh, I like to keep in shape" I decided not to ask about her, not sure if it would bring up anything bad.

Ruby looked up at me "But seriously, if you need any help I can carry some stuff" She offered a hand.

I raised an eyebrow at her, noting hows tired she seemed after carrying the bags she already has "You sure _you _don't need help?" I asked somewhat teasingly.

"You got a lot of stuff!" She complained loudly, huffing.

"Weakling" I joked with a smirk, she just stuck her tongue out at me.

"Fine! I won't help! See if I care!"

"I'm sure you don't"

"Hmph!"

.

.

.

"Pfftt…" We both barely held in our laughter.

Seriously, what's with this? It's actually kinda fun talking to her, and it surprises me how easy it is now. And I find myself really appreciating her coming out with me and showing me that junkyard, taking time out of her schedule to do this.

'_Especially after you tried to blow her off earlier' _My mind supplied bitterly, dampening my mood.

"..."

Why do I still feel kinda shitty? I know logically I wasn't trying to hurt her or anything, I just wanted to be left alone and do my science experiments...but I ended up asking her for help instead.

Looking at my behaviour from earlier, she might think I only wanted her around only because it suited me, and that leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth, she did so much to help me get this stuff, even lending money. Sure, you could argue she owed it to me, but that sounds even worse somehow...

I took a glance at her, she seemed happy as she looked ahead, humming some tune that's probably something native to this world…

"Thanks by the way" I found myself saying as we continued to walk.

Ruby looked at me tilted her head a little at my statement "What for?" She asked.

"You know, for showing me this place, coming to scurry through a junkyard with me, I appreciate it" I shrugged my shoulder-well, as much as I could carrying all this stuff and a table "I-uh…" I paused, feeling awkward as I tried to find words.

"...I know it's not exactly like a regular 'hang-out' or anything, and I was kinda stand-offish earlier…" I admitted, feeling somewhat guilty again, but continued "so, yeah, thanks for showing me the place, and helping pay for the table" I said sincerely, trying to convey it.

I may not necessarily want her to be near me, but it's not for any of the reasons normally associated with that. She's actually... fun to talk to, kinda too excitable, a little innocent, but over all she's a good person, I can easily tell that.

While I don't think it's a good idea for me to associate with her like this, I also don't want to hurt her. I don't want to push her away and undo the good of everything I said to her, because I meant every word of it. And if I pushed her away now, it would just make those words meaningless, because who would follow the advice of someone who fucking avoids you? That's...unacceptable, at least as far as I'm concerned.

Eventually she'll move on, maybe make new and better friends, and I'll be left to my own devices again. But until then...

I then realized that she was oddly silent as I thought about this, I looked back at her to see her staring at me "...what?" I asked in confusion, feeling a little uncomfortable at her gaze.

"...pft" She giggled a little "Sorry! It's just...I just showed you to a junkyard and gave you ten lien" She said as a matter of fact "It's not like I saved your life or something"

My eyes looked away from her, feeling somewhat embarrassed now making a big deal out of it "Yeah, well, still…"

"Besides!" She chirped walking up next to me with a smile "I had a lot of fun actually! It's been a while since I've been there, and it was kinda cool listening to you mumble about what to do with the stuff-" She suddenly stopped, her face going red as she waved her hands with the bag still on her arm "I-uh-mean-I wasn't purposely trying to listen o-or anything! Or make you feel uncomfortable-"

"Hehe…" I chuckled lightly, she stopped at it "Ease up a little, I know I get into it sometimes" I waved it off, not really bothered. I know I was really focused on what to do with the parts.

She relaxed "Um, yeah...I uh, really had fun, it's...nice to talk to you like this, rather than just on your break or walking around town" Ruby twiddled with the bag a little "It feels like I barely see you sometimes"

'_Barely? I already consider the amount I talk to you now very high, are you an extrovert?' _I questioned in my mind as I stared at her "Well, I have been busy…" I said, adjusting the table again _'My arms are getting tired…'_

We were approaching my apartment anyway, thank the universe, I'm gonna need to relax a little before getting to work on making the lab, but not before checking one final thing.

"Yeah, living on your own and working must take up a lot of time" Ruby said, but then looked at me curiously "...so uh...why _do _you live on your own?"

'_I hate these questions' _I thought, but answered in stride"I came here on my own, I didn't really expect myself to be here specifically, but uh...I wanted to live on my own for a change, so to speak" Luckily I already had a semi-decent backstory pre-planned.

"What about your parents?" She asked innocently.

The tight feeling in my chest was back just from the simple question, the reminder of my parents making me feel homesick, but I kept a straight poker face and made no outward sign of change in my demeanor "It's...somewhat complicated, I can't get into contact with them right now, the network doesn't go out that far"

"Oh…" Ruby let out quietly "So...your all alone?"

I stopped in front of the apartment door, staring at the number, the tiredness in my arms forgotten as my mind focused on that one word.

_Alone._

Huh...I guess I am. I never really thought about it that way before. Dangerous? Yes. Unfamiliar? Yes. Crazy? Hell yes.

But lonely?

I never thought about it like that, I always take a sort of pride to my loneliness. I like spending time by myself, no matter what anyone else said. There are just times where I needed to get away from people, because it was too much.

Yet, as I look back on my past week here, coming back to an empty room after a day of work, I always felt like there was something missing...

"_Dinner's ready Drake!"_

"_Probably gonna need help on the car later bro"_

"_Wanna watch the new DC movie that came out son?"_

"_Can you read to me big bro?"_

.

.

.

"Drake?"

I blinked slowly, realizing I was lost in a daze, and Ruby was looking at me in concern "Oh, uh...sorry, was just lost in thought" I said evenly, pushing aside the memories as best I could "But, yeah, to answer your question...it is kinda lonely, I guess, but I don't mind it" I answered.

'_I'll get back home' _I promised again, and inserted the key, unlocked it, and opened the door to my temporary new home.

"O-Okay" Ruby said hesitantly, setting the bag down by my door "Well...you got me to hang out with!" She said suddenly "So you don't have to feel lonely!"

I just stared at her _'This girl…' _Saying stuff like that willy-nilly, if I didn't know better I'd say she was a heartbreaker.

The huntress-in-training seemed to realize her own words and blushed slightly "T-That sounded kinda weird, didn't it?" She asked sheepishly.

I set down the table before looking at her again "Um...kinda, but I get the message...thanks" I rubbed the back of my neck "And thanks again for helping, this will definitely speed things up a bit"

With all these parts I bet I could knock almost everything out in an all nighter. My body is going to _hate _me for it later, especially after carrying so much today, but it's gotta get done.

"No problem!" Ruby chirped, smiling widely "I uh...it's really fun hanging out with you, do you maybe wanna do this again some other time?" She asked, looking a little excited "Maybe I could show you Crescent Rose! You said you liked her from the pictures!"

"'Her'?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, it was always something she did, refer to her weapon as a 'her' _'Is this like one of those car things where you refer to the car as a girl?' _Being around my Dad and younger brother, car lovers, ingrained that bit of trivia into me.

"She's a beautifal girl!" Ruby huffed cutely while crossing her arms.

I chuckled slightly "Well, she does look like a beauty from her pictures" I admitted, and she had this small smug look on her face like 'Yeah, I made her'.

She then started looking at me expectantly "So, do you wanna like, schedule something? I dunno what your schedule is exactly…"

I take a glance back at my science equipment, remembering the reason for my being in a rush to get this done "I…" I paused, considering it.

'_Fuck, why does this have to be so complicated?' _Terrorists watching me, very dangerous. Gotta get this done…knock one of them out, interrogate them on the bright flash of light in the warehouse.

I haven't seen any signs of any faunus watching me though, maybe they're lying low? After what happened with those two I wouldn't be surprised.

Being with Ruby could complicate things even more, make it so their much more wary of getting near me, while that is technically a good thing, it's bad for my plans, I should say no-

"_It's cool how passionate you seem to be about it"_

"_Um, yeah...I uh, really had fun, it's...nice to talk to you like this"_

"_Well… you got me to hang out with! So you don't have to feel lonely!"_

.

.

.

'_Here I am trying to figure out how to ditch her again, after she just helped me out with something so important' _I thought to myself bitterly, annoyed with my own thoughts.

Fact of the matter is, that's what I'm doing. Yes, it is important I'm cautious about my interactions with people on this planet, but it doesn't change what I'm essentially trying to do.

'_Do I have to ditch her?' _I questioned myself, thinking seriously about the answer.

Could I keep her company and simply find a workaround? It's not without risk, the more she's around me the more she'll ask questions. I could lie easily enough, at least until she moves on, but there's a chance she may catch one of those lies.

'_Is it worth it?' _I asked myself. Is it really worth it? It would be good to have someone around to explain some of the things around here where the Remnant Knowledge doesn't provide I suppose, just use the excuse of being from outside the Kingdoms as the reason for asking.

And...overall, if it helps her get over what happened, then I'd be happy with that.

Ruby waved her hands nervously at my lack of response "Well, if you got too much going on-"

"How about tomorrow?" I asked suddenly, interrupting her. It's worth it, at least for now.

She looked at me in surprise "I-I thought you were planning on doing an experiment?" Ruby asked in confusion.

'_Uh...guess I did say that, crap' _I did plan to do an experiment tomorrow, being it was another day off and a perfect opportunity. I can't exactly waste it...

Looking back at the science equipment, an idea came to mind, and I raise my finger "How about this? We meet up, you bring Crescent Rose, and I'll bring my experiment, we can both show them off a little" I proposed, looking at her curiously for her opinion "Sound good?"

Ruby nodded excitedly, looking to be ecstatic "Yeah! That sounds great!" She shouted "When and where!?"

'_Good question, where can I go to experiment that wouldn't bother anyone?' _I think about it for a moment, glancing at Ruby, she would probably have a better idea "Do you know any open clearings away from people?" I asked, and when I saw her confused look I then added "I don't want anyone complaining"

Ruby nodded in understanding "Yeah! Me and my sister have this training spot in the forest we go to sometimes, we can go somewhere around there!"

"So...meet up at my place at what…" I think about it for a moment, I'll need time to pack it up "Noon? And you can show me the way?" I asked.

"I can do that!" She seemed to be growing more estatic by the second "Oh-it's gonna be fun! I get to show off my baby, and we can hang out-like, not near your job or anything-it'll be so awesome!" Ruby laughed a little awkwardly as she realized her own enthusiasm was showing "Ehe...Noon, right? I'll be there!"

I chuckled lightly "Yeah yeah, now get out of here" I made a waving motion with my hand toward the door "I gotta get started, and I'm sure your family is waiting on you for dinner, considering it's getting dark out and all"

Ruby's eyebrows shot up, and her head whirled to look out the window "Ah...it is late! I didn't even realize" She muttered the last part, she checked the time on her scroll "Y-Yeah, I should go" She then pointed to me "But we're definitely on for tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, we are" I deadpanned, it's not like we just went over that or anything. Spoiler alert: That was sarcasm.

"You can't change your mind now!" She asserted, putting her finger in front of my face with a mock-stern look.

'_I'm tempted to say "Nah, nevermind" just to tease her, but I'll refrain' _I thought in amusement as I gently pushed the finger out of my face "I get it, now get going already, I got some work to do"

"Alright!" She finally seemed to relent as she made her way out the door, waving at me "See you tomorrow!"

She shut the door behind her, and I made to go over to lock it-

The door opened again and Ruby's head peaked through "I'll be here at noon, so don't forget-"

"Get out of here already!" I threw my hands up in fake exasperation, she laughed before finally closing the door, I heard the sound of a- _WHOOSH!- _outside the door, meaning she was actually gone.

But just to be safe, I waited another ten seconds "...finally" I said, I can get to work now.

I locked the door and slid in the second lock chain "Alright…" I turned around and looked to the experiment on the table "Should've had plenty of time to form the final product…"

I walked over to it, I felt a bit nervous, honestly hoping that it worked. I've done it plenty of times back home, and though this is a lot more makeshift it should still work...unless there is something about this planet that would stop it.

Just a small fear I have with no evidence that I've seen yet to support it, but it's a worry nonetheless, that maybe the reason why this planet doesn't use most of the chemicals we use is because they don't work here, that something about this planet stops them, but I have no reason to believe so.

The batteries worked after all, and so did the potassium permanganate and glycerin...but those are smaller reactions in comparison to the scale this one is.

So this experiment should be what gives me a definite answer, that if this can work, that maybe other larger scale ones can too.

Standing over the plastic container, I slipped on the rubber gloves and prepared a piece of aluminum foil, scrunching up into a small ball.

Sodium hydroxide dissolves aluminum to form hydrogen gas and sodium aluminate, so if I were to put this into the batch of sodium hydroxide it would react with the aluminum to form a black bubbly liquid.

Detaching the electrodes from the solution, I set them down carefully and held up the crumbled up aluminum over the solution…

'_Please work…' _I silently pleaded, it should. It _**should.**_

I gently dropped it in.

Nothing could move my gaze from it, the room was quiet. I stared at the piece of aluminum floating in it and just waited…

.

.

.

And after a full twenty seconds, I noticed a few bubbles around it _'...I'm not seeing things, right?' _I double checked to make sure and certainly enough there was _'That should be the hydrogen'_

I then waited a few minutes, many more bubbles had arisen.

Another few minutes past, and the solution was beginning to become black, bubbling up.

It's working…!

One more test, one more test would prove it just to be sure. I took out a lighter and lit it, bringing it close to the top of the solution-

_**Fwoom!**_

I could feel the sudden heat in front of my face, and a flash of orange for less than a second. The air above it ignited, which meant _hydrogen _was in the air.

I pumped my fist into the air "YES!" I let myself shout, a huge sense of relief flooding over me. I have in front of me sodium aluminate and hydrogen gas, a normal chemical reaction that went perfectly!

'_If this can work, what's to say others can't too!?' _Confidence and spirits boosted, I felt a laugh bubbling up in my throat, excitement filling me to the brim.

Picking up the table again, I set it over by the window at the other end of the living room, right next to the kitchen, and then brought over all the items I had bought.

* * *

_**(Play Dr. Stone: I'm A Human)**_

First, I immediately got to scrubbing the table with a sponge. It wasn't so bad, the dirt was easiest to get off, but there were some stains that took a while, but nothing like a little water and soap to fix it up.

'_Get off you stupid stain…!' _I grit my teeth a bit as I scrubbed harder.

Next, I set up the beakers and test tubes on the table. The labels said they were rated for high dust usage, but that said nothing on it's durability for chemicals...but it was still glass, so it should still work for most chemicals. I'll have to test it later.

I also set some of my materials from my backpack there specifically, a cheap beaker stand sat in the back of the table right by the window.

'_Easy part is done' _I think to myself as I bring over the bags for parts I had gotten, along with the stuff I bought at the local stores.

I'm gonna need a heating mantle for basic distillation and chemical processes, maybe build in a magnetic stirrer, but that can be done later after I make a DC motor.

Couldn't find any heating tape so that wasn't going to work, so instead I'll have to go the harder way and use fiberglass, but it will be far more useful this way for later on anyways.

It was very tedious, shaping it around my largest flask, layering it, practically sewing heating wire through it, I had gotten an aluminum pot so I could specifically add a magnetic stirrer later on since magnets aren't attracted to that metal.

I solder the wires to connect it to it's plug-in, careful not to make any mistakes, and once I was done I examined my handiwork.

'_Make sure the power works...it's definitely getting hot, probably a limit of seven-hundred degrees farenheit, that'll work…'_

After over an hour I tested it out on a round flask filled with water, settling in the aluminum pot with fiberglass covered the insides and over the top of it, the flask being held in place by a clamp stand on the side, it sat on the table and boiled the water easily.

"That's out of the way…" I looked it over, it wouldn't make nearly as much use without a distillation apparatus, so that's next on the agenda.

It won't be as fancy as the ones back home, but I can make it easily enough. A bit of plastic tubing, a container filled with ice water and something to attach that plastic tubing to the flask, put that all together and you've got a basic distillation set for chemistry.

Setting up the apparatus on the table, I bent the plastic tubing to sit in the container and glued it in, and installed a clamp around the other end of the tub to attach to the flask. Not fancy, and gonna have to improve upon it, but it'll work for now.

I tested it out with the water again, only this time adding a bit of black dye to it, the water evaporated and condensed back over into a smaller beaker, much clearer than the liquid being heated was.

'_Heating mantle done, distillation set done' _All the chemicals I currently have, and the items I plan to extract materials from, are all organized in a neat and orderly area on the back of the table on some shelves I placed there.

I rubbed the sleepiness out of my eyes, gotta keep going…

'_I'll need a stand for my phone to use the magnification app, and to look through my notes easier while doing experiments' _I quickly got to work, took out an adjustable stand and a block of wood.

I carved at it with a knife, comparing it to the shape of my phone and judging where appropriate to shape it, it took a while to get it to the correct shape, and it was amateurish at best, but it would work.

Attaching it to the stand, I used an electric drill I had made with a homemade DC motor back when I was at the hotel and got bored, it was far cheaper than buying a drill itself. It had a simple wooden frame, attached to it was a DC motor connected to a trigger, and the trigger attached to the vinegar batteries I made.

I'd use that DC motor to make the magnetic stirrer, but I'm gonna need this drill for other projects.

I put my I-Phone on the stand and moved it up and down, I turned it on and moved over to photos, going over all the pictures of my notes.

Passing over some of my siblings and pets (which only hardened my resolve and made me work harder), I got to the next thing on the agenda, an arc furnace.

Setting down a clamp on the table, I also took out the transformers I had gotten from the junkyard and put one of them in the clamp, proceeding to take it apart with a hacksaw.

'_Really hope nobody complains about noise' _I bang out the primary coils with a small rubber mallet and a flathead prying it apart.

After making the appropriate modifications to the transformers I linked them together and attached them to two cables leading to conductive vice-grips, I then put on my rubber gloves and put the vice grips on the two carbon rods I made earlier, turning it on and putting them near each other.

_**Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!**_

A buzzing sound was made as sparks of electricity flowed through one to the other "This can melt almost any metal" I muttered with a smirk, thinking of the possibilities. All I needed left was to make fire brick, which was what my chemistry set is for once I get all the materials.

Turning it off, I set it down "Phew…" I sighed, my hands shaking for some reason...oh, they feel sore _'How long has it been? What time is it?' _I check my phone, shaking somewhat due to my hand.

_3:03 AM_

I let out a laugh "Haha...I've been working since eight…" I should fucking go to sleep already.

'_But I can't'_

I wouldn't be able to sleep, I have too much on my mind, too many ideas, too much desire to get things done. Too many thoughts on home, too much wishing that I could do something to get back faster.

I am _**sick **_ and _**tired **_of wishing, it's time for _**doing**_.

So I ignored the feeling in my hands, took a chair, and sat at the table to continue my work.

I wouldn't fall asleep until morning.

_**(End song)**_

* * *

_**Captaindrake123: I might have gotten a little carried away with the science and building sections of this chapter...just a smidge. It's a big part of Drake's character though, he has the mind of a scientist, he's not a genius by any means but he is good at it and he will use it. But I can dumb it down if needed.**_

_**Also, have any of you watched Doctor Stone? It's an awesome show, I really love how it goes about the role of science in it's story arcs. I wanna do science entertainment like that, so I'll see how that goes. You should go watch it if your into science.**_

_**Anyway, I am sorry that I did not get this out earlier like I promised-not like I have an obligation to you guys anyway, but still, a promise is a promise-and to make up for that I am glad to say that I am on winter break, so I should get the next chapter out fairly quickly.**_

_**AND I also have another pleasant surprise, I have TWO full omakes for you! Enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Omake: Police Investigation # 2**_

The Patch Police Station was loud that night, buzzling with phone calls and the rapid steps of officers moving from place to place, carrying paperworks and folders of evidence and cases.

One Chief in particular had a mountain of paperwork on his desk, the desk plate in front of him holding the name 'Teal L. Morado'.

The man in the room rubbed his nose in frustration, too much was going on, and it was getting to him "...ha…" He sighed.

_Knock! Knock!_

He didn't bother to look up "Come in!" Teal called as he sorted through another file, pictures of the White Fang lieutenant in the hospital, he was completely bandaged and restrained.

"Hello Chief, how are ya?"

Teal's eyebrow twitched at the voice of the private detective "I did not hire you Mister Mauve, kindly exit my office and out the station until I do" He stated dismissively.

Mauve didn't let it bother him and simply sauntered over before plopping down on the chair in front of the desk "Yeah, let's just pretend you don't need all the help you can get right now" He said sarcastically "What with the White Fang hiding in Patch, with who knows how many numbers in our home, and the recent escape of our big fellow out of the hospital setting people on edge"

Teal dropped the papers onto the desk, he stood up, and closed the curtains around his office, before turning around to the private detective in question "I'd watch how much you say Mister Mauve, because I am not in the mood for it, I have a lot of people to assign to cases and paperwork to sort through, so get to the point _quickly_"

Mauve examined the chief briefly: baggy and red eyes, a slight slouch in his posture, and his tone of voice all lead to signs of sleep deprivation, he hadn't gotten any good sleep in days.

"...right" Mauve stood up "I will, put me on the job"

"Denied" The chief dismissed quickly.

"C'mon Chief, y'know I'm good, I can help you find them"

"That's not the problem, the problem is your emotionally involved in this situation" He stated as a matter of fact.

The private detective didn't bother to hide it "Yeah, I can't say I don't hate those terrorist bastards, they've hurt a lot of people, I personally don't have anything against faunus, but those terrorists can go die in a fire for all I care" He sneered "But the story on why I hate the White Fang can be told later, because frankly, we don't have the fucking time"

Teal grunted at it in a 'you don't say' manner, ignoring his callous language "Either way, I don't have much patience right now, and this is not proving to be a good use of my time, so either you have something solid or-"

"I can find out where the Lieutenant went"

.

.

.

"I'm listening" He immediately sat down by his desk, the other detective doing so on the other side.

Mauve threw down a folder from his coat, opening it to show his own personal findings "It's not as fancy as your boys in forensics, but it does the job, here you'll see I got a few statements and witnesses who saw the crime happen-"

"I have no reports of this" Teal stated with a confused look.

The private detective shrugged "I can get more people to talk than a regular cop could, some people don't trust the police nowadays, especially faunus"

The chief grimaced, he couldn't refute that "What else?"

"I have a lead to find one of their hideouts" He points to the next file, a series of numbers, ones of case reports of stores that were reported with stolen commodities in the area "There's multiple people who have stated that they've seen suspicious activity in this district, and it coincides with the time that the big guy escaped"

"...that is something to look into" The Chief muttered over the papers, picking them up and examining them closely "How did you get some of this information? I don't imagine it was through normal means"

"Some people owed me some favors" The private detective said illusively, but didn't answer any further.

"...you think your contacts could get you more?" The Chief found himself asking.

"A lot more" Mauve answered.

Teal mulled over it, staring at the man across from him, not finding the situation to be a comfortable one. But with everything going on, and the backlash and negativity that will go up with the media, he didn't have a lot of options.

It could be days, weeks, or even months, but whatever it is they were planning it needed to be dealt with, and soon.

"Something big is coming" Teal muttered, looking down at all the files and papers on his desk, every picture, his eyes were hard and worried "Whatever is going on with these White Fang...their not here for their normal hit and runs, and there's no way it's gonna end well"

He sharply turned his gaze back to the private detective "The only reason why I'm even considering it is because of that, your right, I do need all the help I can get" He stood up from his seat and glared into the purple eyes of the man across from him "But I need you to understand, whatever reason you have, whatever hate or justification you think you have, you will put it aside, because whatever is going on, _a lot _of people could get hurt...do I make myself clear?"

Mauve stared back, unblinking "Crystal"

He nodded, satisfied as he eased up "Then your hired"

* * *

_**Omake #2: Drake Chibi! (Non-canon)**_

I groggily blinked open my eyes, yawning "Ahhh...what time is it?" I shook my head, looking down to see I fell asleep at the table, what with the drool on it "Ugh, no wonder my neck feels stiff...fuzzing dangit"

.

.

.

"Wait, what?" I blinked again _'What did I just say?' _I must be really groggy, so I just got up and out of my chair-"W-Whoa!" Feeling unbalanced, I fell to the floor instantly.

Something felt...weird, my head was feeling heavy _'The fuzz is going on-there it is again!' _I think, even my thoughts seemed weird.

I pushed myself off the ground-but then completely stopped at the sight of my hands on the floor.

"...why are my hands tiny?" I asked aloud.

They were so...small! I wiggle my fingers as I take a closer look at them, they looked like baby hands!

"Did I shrink?" I questioned, oddly enough seriously considering the answer, with everything that's happened to me so far I would not rule it out.

Taking a careful step onto the ground, I stood up "W-Whoa!" I unsteadily kept my balance, my head still felt weirdly heavy, and when I thought about why that would be, I decided to head to the bathroom at a slow pace as to not fall down.

Once in there, I looked at the mirror…"Holy shizzle! I've been chibified!" I didn't even bother with my weird inability to curse, I just looked at my shocked overly huge head and tiny body self, my huge eyes hilariously wide.

"That looks so weird…" The fact that I look like a cutesy Japanese animation was strange as heck, my head in proportion to my body…it's just not natural! Sure it looks cute on screen, but in real life it'd be really weird.

Walking out of the bathroom I took my time learning how to walk again, considering how unbalanced I am "My universe this is ridiculous, what happened to me? Did the Remnant Knowledge do this?"

'_Nope'_

I blinked slowly at the quick response "...huh, guess that rules that out" I scratched the top of my oversized head "Wait a minute, did you just directly answer me-?"

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Hearing my phone, I glared up at the ceiling "We'll talk about this later" I said gruffly as I got out my phone.

'_No we won't'_

Growling, I unlocked my phone and saw that I had set a reminder for something at noon-"Oh shizzle me dizzle! Ruby's coming over!"

Looking at the clock, it was _11:59_ , but just as it reached _12:00-_

_**Bam!**_

"AH!" I screamed at the sudden sound of my door being bashed open, losing my grip on my phone and trying to catch it mid-air, only to get it just before it hit the ground.

Looking over at the place where my door _used _to be, I saw that it was completely shattered, and it's place was a chipper _chibi _Ruby Rose "Hi Drake! Sorry about the door!" She skipped on inside.

I stared at her "...so it happened to you too?"

She tilted her giant head cutely "What do you mean?"

I raised my finger to point it out, but then thought better of it. If she didn't know already, then whatever has happened she is clearly not aware of it...also I'm more concerned about my door.

"Your gonna pay for that right?" I asked bluntly "Why did you break it anyway?"

"...I got really excited" She admitted shyly, only to get really hyper all of a sudden and started hopping in one place "This is gonna be so much fun! We're gonna hang out! Talk about weapons! Share stories! And…" She went on and on incessantly, bouncing off the walls of the room like if it were a cartoon.

I briefly realized that my lack of reaction for any of this was because I was in shock...no, not because of the chibification, not because of Ruby breaking the laws of physics and bouncing off the walls like a rubber ball, and definitely not because of the cost in damages I'll have to probably pay for that door.

No, it was something far worse.

I realized why I couldn't curse…

'_The universe is censoring me'_

Takes me from my home, my family, and everything I love...now I can't even mutter a swear word. The one reprieve that I have in this world.

"C'mon bestie-I mean, Drake!" Ruby exclaimed as she grabbed my sleeve and dragged me out the door "We have a fun day ahead of us!"

I just accepted whatever fate it may lead me to as I lamented in my inability to have anything go my way in life.

* * *

**_Captaindrake123: Sixteen-thousand words...not bad if I say so myself. Also, stop asking me if I'm continuing this...I am still getting messages for it even after I posted that explanation. Please, stop, it's not just annoying at this point, it's disrespectful because clearly you did not bother to actually read what I had to say. I will not name names, but you know who you are._**

**_Seriously, I get it, you want this story to continue, but you have to realize that I have other priorities, and I will not answer if you keep asking._**

**_Anyway, enough of that, thanks for reading, any constructive criticism is appreciated, and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas...or __Hanukkah__, you get what I mean. See yah!_**


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